From Library Journal
There are few surprises among the photographs selected for this collection: from Edwin Hale Lincoln's Thistle and Walker Evans's Brooklyn Bridge to Richard Avedon's Brigitte Bardot, students of photography will recognize all but a few. But the collection's special appeal, in addition to the two fine essays, is as a survey of the medium from Lincoln to Diane Arbus. The book is organized chronologically but indulges in intersting juxtapositions: Edward Weston's undulating Pepper No. 30 is contrasted with Imogen Cunningham's contorted Nude; Nickolas Murry's plaintive Babe Ruth with Edward Steichen's veiled, furtive Gloria Swanson. There is some overlap between the essays by Peter Galassi, the photography curator at the Museum of Modern Art, and by critic Luc Sante, but their focuses vary. Galassi is concerned with the establishment of photography as an art, while Sante speaks more to the effects of that art, going so far as to say, "It might seem that twentieth-century America was invented by its photographers." Judge for yourself. While a good photography collection will feature monographs of many of the artists collected here, the book's ability to condense the broad field recommends it to all libraries collecting in photography.?Adam Mazmanian, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
