Montgomery Maxton (b. June 29, 1980, Mariemont, Ohio) is an American street photographer, author, poet, and new media artist based in Brooklyn, New York.

Raised in rural Southwestern Ohio near Milford, Loveland and Goshen, Maxton graduated from Goshen High School in 1999, where he served as chief editor of the school newspaper. He later studied business administration at the University of Cincinnati. His creative journey in photography began in August 1996 with a 35mm Minolta camera at the Ohio State Fair. Over the past three decades, he has built an extensive archive of over 200,000 digital images and thousands of film negatives, though he only considers around 2,000 photographs as part of his official portfolio.

Maxton’s self-taught photography captures intimate urban landscapes, historical transitions, and candid human moments:

• National Recognition: His 2007 photograph “Skeleton in A Gloomy Window,” shot in Montreal, was published by National Geographic.
• Museum Collections: The Cincinnati Museum Center acquired 38 of his photographs documenting the 2009–2010 construction of the Great American Tower at Queen City Square, as well as his 2008 portrait of then-Senator Barack Obama in Cincinnati.
• Exhibitions: His work has been featured in regional galleries.

Alongside visual art, Maxton is a published author, poet, and fiction writer. His written works explore themes of memory, place, and historical ghosts:

• Poetry Collections: This Beautiful Bizarre (2010) and Every Ghost Dwells A Place to Haunt (2026).
• Prose & Drama: Author of the popular 2022 story Tiffany and the non-fiction book Finding Iola (2024)—which chronicles his archival search for a historical portrait of his cousin Iola Sipple. He is currently working on a vampire novella and a play.

In addition to his creative career, Maxton has worked in executive administration and office operations for tech and design firms in New York City, balancing corporate logistics with art curation, fine art collecting, and historical research.

Maxton announced in 2024 that he is battling several unexpected health issues that are limiting his social life and weakening his quality of life.

Maxton has an extensive and diverse genealogical background, with several historical and famous figures as cousins, including Princess Diana and Marilyn Monroe. He is a direct descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolfe, with them being his 10th great-grandparents.

Books & Short Stories By Montgomery Maxton

This Beautiful Bizarre (2010)
Champagne (2016, reissue 2025)
The Manhattan Man: a graphic novel (2018)
New & Selected Poems: 1999-2018 (2018)
Tiffany (2022)
Finding Iola (2024)
Every Ghost Dwells A Place to Haunt (forthcoming, 2026)
Panthère (forthcoming, 2026)