Debora Hunter was born in Chicago in 1950 and grew up in architecturally rich Oak Park, Illinois. She attended Northwestern University, receiving a B.A. with honors in English Literature and a minor in Women’s Studies in 1972. While at Northwestern she became interested in photography when studying visual sociology with Howard S. Becker. She took her first photography class in summer school at the Art Institute of Chicago taught by Ken Josephson. She received a research grant from Cornell Capa of the International Center for Photography before attending Rhode Island School of Design for graduate school. She received a M.F.A. in 1976, working with Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind and the visiting faculty of Minor White and Lisette Model. She began teaching photography in the Division of Art, Meadows School of Art, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas in 1976 and retired as Professor Emerita in 2016.

Selected solo exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago), Art Institute of Chicago (2-person show), International Museum of Photography/George Eastman House, Texas Tech University, James Kelly Contemporary (Santa Fe), Delahunty Gallery (Dallas).

Selected group exhibitions include the New Mexico History Museum, Amon Carter Museum, Corcoran Museum of Art, Hirshhorn Museum, Witkin Gallery (NYC), Light Factory, Dallas Museum of Art, Houston Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (NYC), McKinney Avenue Contemporary (Dallas), Lawndale Annex (Houston, TX), Herbert S. Johnson Museum (Cornell University), Fort Worth Art Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, Bravin Post Lee Gallery (NYC), Center for the Arts (Boulder, CO), Alternative Museum (NYC), Creative Photography Laboratory (MIT, Cambridge, MA), Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibitions, Amarillo Art Center. 

Her work is in the permanent collections of Art Institute of Chicago, High Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Houston Museum of Fine Art, Amon Carter Museum, Yale University Art Museum, University of New Mexico Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Wesleyan University Art Museum, Rhode Island School of Design Art Museum, Creative Photography Laboratory of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Louisiana Art and Science Center, Lee Witkin, Ruttenberg Art Foundation, Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

For a complete CV contact debora@deborahunter.com