Walker Evans, more than any other photographer in the thirties and forties, defined the documentary aesthetic. He is generally acknowledged as America's finest documentary photographer of the century.
Maria Morris Hambourg Knihy



"Celebrating the centennial of Irving Penn's birth, this volume spans the entirety of his groundbreaking career. The introduction situates his work in the context of the various artistic, social, and political environments and events that affected the content of his photographs. The essays acquaint readers with Penn's primary subjects and campaigns, including early documentary scenes and imagery; portraits; fashion; female nudes; people of Peru, Dahomey (Benin), New Guinea, and Morocco; still lifes; and more"--Provided by publisher.
Published to accompany an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from February 1998, this is a study of the achievements of the early career of the American photographer, Paul Strand (1890-1976). After studying photography in New York with the social reformer Lewis Hine, Strand began to absorb the ideas of the European avant-garde, and fellow-photographer and art entrepreneur Alfred Stieglitz heralded Strand's pictures as the first images of an incisive modern vision.