W. Eugene Smith (Aperture Masters of Photography) [Hardcover]

W. Eugene Smith (Photographer)

Book Description

Series: Aperture Masters of Photography | Publication Date: June 15, 2005

W. Eugene Smith is the master of the photographic essay; he created essays which include some of the most dramatic and affecting single images of the twentieth century. Fiercely energetic, he made countless photographs memorable for their formal brilliance and for their compassion. This volume of Aperture's Masters of Photography presents more than seventy of Smith's greatest photographs, selected from work created over the course of forty-five years. Smith's interests were broad; his work spanned subject matter from the process of birth to the horrors of death in action. Included here are photographs from Smith's most celebrated photo-essays, including Country Doctor, Spanish Village, Pittsburgh, and Minamata, as well as examples of his World War II work and selections from the later, more introspective work made in his loft in New York City. In his introductory essay, Jim Hughes, Smith's biographer, provides an overview of Smith's life, and insight into his work.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1918, W. Eugene Smith was a combat photographer during World War II, and worked for Life magazine during the 1940s and 1950s, producing more than fifty photo-essays. In the early 1970s, he photographed in Minamata, Japan, a small village affected by industrial mercury poisoning.

Jim Hughes, former editor of Camera Arts, the Photography Annual and Camera 35, is the author of W. Eugene Smith: Shadow & Substance, Ernst Haas in Black and White, and The Birth of a Century.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Aperture (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3829028857
• ISBN-13: 978-0893818364
• ASIN: 0893818364
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,077,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eugene Smith-Master of the Chiaroscuro Photo, April 3, 2006

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: W. Eugene Smith (Aperture Masters of Photography) (Hardcover)

Eugene Smith was one of the greatest photographers of the Twentieth Century. He worked as a photojournalist from the 1930's until the 1970's. Smith was able to elevate his photographs from the realm of journalism into high art. His best photographs use the contrasting effect of light and dark in the chiaroscuro tradition of Spanish Master, Francisco Zurbaran.

This volume is part of Aperture Masters of Photography Series. At under ten dollars, there is no better introduction one can find on the life and work of Eugene Smith. The publisher of this volume is Koneman, a German company well known for the high quality of its productions. This book is a good value and is highly recommended.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction, November 6, 2003

By 

thisisgibbie (Indianapolis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: W. Eugene Smith (Aperture Masters of Photography) (Hardcover)

If you are interested in photography and want to see a good introduction on an excellent photographer, buy this book. The Aperture edition has most of Smith's important pictures and discusses his personal/professional dilemma, which generally should be read very critically in art books, which informs us of the tension in the photographer, which is the important element of good photojournalism. In photojournalism, the tension should be the informing pointer as to what is going on in the picture.

Smith is one of the most important photographers from the 20th century. His influence was great and his work on the photo-essay is defining (e.g. his Life magazine essay on Dr. Ceriani in 1948). His most memorable photo was of Tomoko Uemura with her son in 1972).

Other 20th century photographers you may want to discover or learn from are: Eugene Atget (late-19th/early 20th C), who documented Paris for artists, but whose work influenced the existential air of 20th century photography; Alfred Eisenstadt (mid-late 20th C), who, in my opinion, was the father of modern photo-journalism; and Mary Ellen Mark (late-20th C), who captured the zeitgeist of late-20th century better than most photographers, who tended to project meaning onto their subjects, rather than receive them as Mark was and is so adept at doing.

Of the many photo books on the shelves, this one is worth your time and money.

4 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, June 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Eugene W. Smith (55) (Paperback)

This is a great introduction to one of the most outstanding photographers of all time. The author obviously understands Smith's genious!!