ARNOUT "SONNY" HYDE JR

September 7, 1937 - August 9, 2005

For more than four decades, Arnout "Sonny" Hyde Jr. has dedicated his life to promoting the state of West Virginia through his well-known photography and a number of publications, including Wonderful West Virginia magazine and five self-published pictorial books.  Click HERE to see his beautiful work.

Sonny co-founded and established Wonderful West Virginia  magazine in 1968. From the beginning, he made the magazine a tool for promoting the state’s natural beauty, resources, and heritage. With Hyde’s stunning landscape photography and articles on outdoor recreation; natural resources; parks; wildlife; conservation; history; art and crafts; points, people, and events of interest; and local businesses, they built one of the country’s leading state  magazines that continues to have a loyal following.  Sonny served as the staff photographer for 14 years before assuming the role of editor. During his tenure as staff photographer, “Arnout Hyde Jr.” became a household name.

In 1987, Sonny was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and was given between one and five years to live.  18 years later, Sonny continued to battle this terrible disease with the help of his physicians, his loving and supporting family and his own resolve.  Unfortunately, Sonny lost his battle with cancer on August 9, 2005.

Sonny continued as the magazine’s editor-in-chief until his passing in 2005. Today, a large portion of the magazine’s subscriptions go out of state or overseas, and several state agencies use the magazine to entice potential tourists and investors to visit the Mountain State. The magazine staff frequently receives phone calls, letters, and emails from parks, businesses, and artisans who have been featured in the magazine, reporting an increase in their business. Having dedicated his talents to more than 500 issues of Wonderful West Virginia, Sonny was always committed to showcasing the best of his beloved home state.

In addition to his work with Wonderful West Virginia, Sonny has published five, coffee table pictorial books, several calendars, and a series of note cards that feature his stunning photographs of West Virginia. His photographs also hang in the West Virginia Governor’s Offices, the offices of Senator Jay Rockefeller in Washington D.C., the Federal Courthouse in Charleston, Yeager Airport, and many other public buildings, galleries, and museums. He has completed photo assignments in China, Europe, and Israel and his work has appeared in National Geographic, Life, Reader’s Digest, and National Wildlife, but he has always come home to West Virginia. He remained fiercely loyal and deeply grateful to the Mountain State and repeatedly turned down out of state job offers to continue promoting the place he loved.

Sonny has received such prestigious awards as the 2000 Governor’s Award for “Visual Artist of the Year” and an honorary doctorate from Alderson Broaddus College. Governors Moore, Underwood, and Wise have all named Hyde a “Distinguished West Virginian” in honor of his lifetime achievements.