Bob Adelman (born 1931) is an American photographer known for his images of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Raised on Long Island, New York, he earned his B.A. at Rutgers University, Law Studies from Harvard University, and M.A. in Philosophy from Columbia University.
Adelman used his background as a graduate student in Applied Aesthetics from Columbia University to forge close ties with leading figures of art and literature, including Andy Warhol and Samuel Beckett. After studying photography for several years under the tutelage of Harper's Bazaar art director Alexey Brodovitch, Adelman volunteered as a photographer for the Congress of Racial Equality in the early 1960s, a position that granted him access to Civil Rights Movement’s key leaders, including Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr. and James Baldwin.
Adelman currently resides in Miami Beach. His work is represented by the Howard Greenberg Gallery.