Andrew John Sweet (November 9, 1953 – October 17, 1982) was an American photographer known for his documentary photography and street photography. He photographed the life and residents of South Beach, with a particular focus on the Jewish community, many of them Holocaust survivors. Sweet also captured the carefree young people who made Miami Beach their second home. The Oxford American wrote a story on his vision of capturing a disappearing Jewish Community in Miami Beach.
Sweet was born in Miami Beach and attended Miami Beach Senior High School. Sweet and his family had ties to the Miami Beach Community. Sweet's grandfather Nat Hankoff was one of the founders of Temple Emanu-El in Miami Beach. Sweet had his bar-mitzvah and funeral at the temple. His uncle Ted Hankoff (1922–2016) was a graduate of Cornell University and was a second lieutenant in the US Navy during World War II. Hankoff was best known for being the general manager of many Miami Beach hotels during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s and the World Wide Discount Travel Club. Andy and Ellen's family built the Monte Carlo and the Royal Palm along with the Roses.
Sweet graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School. After completing a master's degree from the University of Colorado in Fine Arts (with a focus on photography)
His violent death and the following trials were covered extensively in the media. The son of a prominent Miami Beach family, the gruesome nature of his death diverted attention from his art just when his work was gaining a following. By mischance, his negatives were lost, leaving only the prints he had made as his legacy, their colors slowly fading away. In 2006, Ellen Sweet Moss' partner, Stan Hughes, found a trove of color ‘work prints’ Sweet made prior to printing full-size prints, Hughes realized that digital technology could be used to restore the fading colors back to the original color that Andy Sweet intended by using color photography instead of the black and white photography that was popular during this era.
Sweet was murdered in 1982, when he was 28 years old. He was stabbed 29 times in his Miami Beach apartment. The Miami Herald Tropic Magazine ran a cover story on his death and documentary photography, "Andy Sweet: A Portrait". "Though young, Sweet was virtually an institution on the Beach, having made thousands of images of the place and the people. He had once done a series on city employees and among them is the photo of one of the detectives assigned to probe his homicide...".
For years the Sweet family tried to get the murderers convicted. The media covered the trials over the years.
Sweet's father, Nelan "Chick" Sweet, was a municipal judge and past president of the Miami Beach Bar Association. He stopped practicing law, losing faith that his son's murderers would ever be justly prosecuted. Two men were later convicted of his murder. Jesus Ortiz, 31, a drifter from Austin, Texas, and John Taylor, 24, a Miami native, claimed to have killed Sweet in a search for cocaine. A third suspect, Marko Dukanovic, a homeless drifter, was later indicted in 1999 with DNA evidence that showed an extra set of fingerprints. But after 12 years in state psychiatric facilities, he was released.
Sweet was born in Miami Beach and attended Miami Beach Senior High School. Sweet and his family had ties to the Miami Beach Community. Sweet's grandfather Nat Hankoff was one of the founders of Temple Emanu-El in Miami Beach. Sweet had his bar-mitzvah and funeral at the temple. His uncle Ted Hankoff (1922–2016) was a graduate of Cornell University and was a second lieutenant in the US Navy during World War II. Hankoff was best known for being the general manager of many Miami Beach hotels during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s and the World Wide Discount Travel Club. Andy and Ellen's family built the Monte Carlo and the Royal Palm along with the Roses.
Sweet graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School. After completing a master's degree from the University of Colorado in Fine Arts (with a focus on photography)
His violent death and the following trials were covered extensively in the media. The son of a prominent Miami Beach family, the gruesome nature of his death diverted attention from his art just when his work was gaining a following. By mischance, his negatives were lost, leaving only the prints he had made as his legacy, their colors slowly fading away. In 2006, Ellen Sweet Moss' partner, Stan Hughes, found a trove of color ‘work prints’ Sweet made prior to printing full-size prints, Hughes realized that digital technology could be used to restore the fading colors back to the original color that Andy Sweet intended by using color photography instead of the black and white photography that was popular during this era.
Sweet was murdered in 1982, when he was 28 years old. He was stabbed 29 times in his Miami Beach apartment. The Miami Herald Tropic Magazine ran a cover story on his death and documentary photography, "Andy Sweet: A Portrait". "Though young, Sweet was virtually an institution on the Beach, having made thousands of images of the place and the people. He had once done a series on city employees and among them is the photo of one of the detectives assigned to probe his homicide...".
For years the Sweet family tried to get the murderers convicted. The media covered the trials over the years.
Sweet's father, Nelan "Chick" Sweet, was a municipal judge and past president of the Miami Beach Bar Association. He stopped practicing law, losing faith that his son's murderers would ever be justly prosecuted. Two men were later convicted of his murder. Jesus Ortiz, 31, a drifter from Austin, Texas, and John Taylor, 24, a Miami native, claimed to have killed Sweet in a search for cocaine. A third suspect, Marko Dukanovic, a homeless drifter, was later indicted in 1999 with DNA evidence that showed an extra set of fingerprints. But after 12 years in state psychiatric facilities, he was released.
Andrew John Sweet (November 9, 1953 – October 17, 1982) was an American photographer known for his documentary photography and street photography. He photographed the life and residents of South Beach, with a particular focus on the Jewish community, many of them Holocaust survivors. Sweet also captured the carefree young people who made Miami Beach their second home. The Oxford American wrote a story on his vision of capturing a disappearing Jewish Community in Miami Beach.
Sweet was born in Miami Beach and attended Miami Beach Senior High School. Sweet and his family had ties to the Miami Beach Community. Sweet's grandfather Nat Hankoff was one of the founders of Temple Emanu-El in Miami Beach. Sweet had his bar-mitzvah and funeral at the temple. His uncle Ted Hankoff (1922–2016) was a graduate of Cornell University and was a second lieutenant in the US Navy during World War II. Hankoff was best known for being the general manager of many Miami Beach hotels during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s and the World Wide Discount Travel Club. Andy and Ellen's family built the Monte Carlo and the Royal Palm along with the Roses.
Sweet graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School. After completing a master's degree from the University of Colorado in Fine Arts (with a focus on photography)
His violent death and the following trials were covered extensively in the media. The son of a prominent Miami Beach family, the gruesome nature of his death diverted attention from his art just when his work was gaining a following. By mischance, his negatives were lost, leaving only the prints he had made as his legacy, their colors slowly fading away. In 2006, Ellen Sweet Moss' partner, Stan Hughes, found a trove of color ‘work prints’ Sweet made prior to printing full-size prints, Hughes realized that digital technology could be used to restore the fading colors back to the original color that Andy Sweet intended by using color photography instead of the black and white photography that was popular during this era.
Sweet was murdered in 1982, when he was 28 years old. He was stabbed 29 times in his Miami Beach apartment. The Miami Herald Tropic Magazine ran a cover story on his death and documentary photography, "Andy Sweet: A Portrait". "Though young, Sweet was virtually an institution on the Beach, having made thousands of images of the place and the people. He had once done a series on city employees and among them is the photo of one of the detectives assigned to probe his homicide...".
For years the Sweet family tried to get the murderers convicted. The media covered the trials over the years.
Sweet's father, Nelan "Chick" Sweet, was a municipal judge and past president of the Miami Beach Bar Association. He stopped practicing law, losing faith that his son's murderers would ever be justly prosecuted. Two men were later convicted of his murder. Jesus Ortiz, 31, a drifter from Austin, Texas, and John Taylor, 24, a Miami native, claimed to have killed Sweet in a search for cocaine. A third suspect, Marko Dukanovic, a homeless drifter, was later indicted in 1999 with DNA evidence that showed an extra set of fingerprints. But after 12 years in state psychiatric facilities, he was released.
Sweet was born in Miami Beach and attended Miami Beach Senior High School. Sweet and his family had ties to the Miami Beach Community. Sweet's grandfather Nat Hankoff was one of the founders of Temple Emanu-El in Miami Beach. Sweet had his bar-mitzvah and funeral at the temple. His uncle Ted Hankoff (1922–2016) was a graduate of Cornell University and was a second lieutenant in the US Navy during World War II. Hankoff was best known for being the general manager of many Miami Beach hotels during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s and the World Wide Discount Travel Club. Andy and Ellen's family built the Monte Carlo and the Royal Palm along with the Roses.
Sweet graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School. After completing a master's degree from the University of Colorado in Fine Arts (with a focus on photography)
His violent death and the following trials were covered extensively in the media. The son of a prominent Miami Beach family, the gruesome nature of his death diverted attention from his art just when his work was gaining a following. By mischance, his negatives were lost, leaving only the prints he had made as his legacy, their colors slowly fading away. In 2006, Ellen Sweet Moss' partner, Stan Hughes, found a trove of color ‘work prints’ Sweet made prior to printing full-size prints, Hughes realized that digital technology could be used to restore the fading colors back to the original color that Andy Sweet intended by using color photography instead of the black and white photography that was popular during this era.
Sweet was murdered in 1982, when he was 28 years old. He was stabbed 29 times in his Miami Beach apartment. The Miami Herald Tropic Magazine ran a cover story on his death and documentary photography, "Andy Sweet: A Portrait". "Though young, Sweet was virtually an institution on the Beach, having made thousands of images of the place and the people. He had once done a series on city employees and among them is the photo of one of the detectives assigned to probe his homicide...".
For years the Sweet family tried to get the murderers convicted. The media covered the trials over the years.
Sweet's father, Nelan "Chick" Sweet, was a municipal judge and past president of the Miami Beach Bar Association. He stopped practicing law, losing faith that his son's murderers would ever be justly prosecuted. Two men were later convicted of his murder. Jesus Ortiz, 31, a drifter from Austin, Texas, and John Taylor, 24, a Miami native, claimed to have killed Sweet in a search for cocaine. A third suspect, Marko Dukanovic, a homeless drifter, was later indicted in 1999 with DNA evidence that showed an extra set of fingerprints. But after 12 years in state psychiatric facilities, he was released.
