Customer Reviews

Margaret Bourke-white: The Early Work, 1922-1930 (Pocket Paragon Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I can't give it the 5 stars it deserves. The quality of the photo reproductions in this book are excellent, but they're so small you can't appreciate the images. The book is the size of a paper-back novel. In my opinion, photogravure books need to be bigger (i.e. coffee-table book size) to be able to enjoy the artwork. Text was interesting but far from a complete biography. I was left wanting more info. The publisher used thick, semi-gloss paper, and full-spectrum, high-def printing. Then the photos were made teeny-weeny. Why? 5 stars for the artwork and the quality of reproduction, though.

Margaret Bourke-White was a leading photojournalist whose work for Fortune, among others, celebrated the machine age and whose later work for Life featured more of an interest in humanitarian concerns. MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE: THE EARLY WORK, 1992-1930 provides a new gathering with a focus on her earliest work, when she was an amateur. Her first photos were still lifes and images more characteristic of her times rather than her talents: one can see the transitions to her personal style in the photos made from 1928-30, and it's also notable that the some eighty photos reproduced here have seldom been seen outside their archives. A 'must' for any in-depth art library.

I borrowed this book from the library when I did a paper on Margaret. She was an amazing photographer and has an interesting history. I really did not know anything about her early years so I was super excited to see her photographs, learn about her life, and just feel the nicely printed pages of this book. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about her and her work.