Paul Strand circa 1916 [Hardcover]

Maria Morris Hambourg (Author), Paul Strand (Photographer)

Book Description

Series: Metropolitan Museum of Art Series | Publication Date: 1997

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. The photographs reproduced here are accompanied by text which traces the early development of Strand's ideas and the complex cultural context of his experiments.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300086504
• ISBN-13: 978-0300086508
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 11.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,527,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for any Paul Strand admirer, June 22, 2004

By 

Jenbug (Southern Cali, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paul Strand circa 1916 (Hardcover)

Admittedly, Paul Strand's recognition stems from his later politically focused work, and until this book, his early work had never really been looked at as a collection. Even were I to look at this book merely from that standpoint, I would consider it an outstanding book--a worthy addition to any photographer's collection. But it goes beyond that. The introduction addresses the enigma surrounding Strands early years, and attempts to bring it together to examine the influences that could possibly have inspired him in the years circa 1916. A few of the interesting details the author touches on include Lewis Hine as his photography teacher, a fieldtrip lead by Hine to Alfred Stieglitz's gallery [291], Stieglitz's initial criticism of Strand's portfolio as well as a later portfolio shown to Stieglitz and Stiechen thought to include such images as City Hall Park (plate 14), Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street (plate 15), and Wall Street (plate 18) resulting in Strand's warm acceptance into Stieglitz's elite photography realm. Oddly though, relatively little is said about his candid portraits taken with his false lens camera, though Strand does provide an anecdote explaining why he stopped working on the project.

The author questions many of the answers Strand gave her in her interview, deciding that between an aged memory and a memory changed to suit his life and career, his comments give more a frame of reference rather than fact, and as such, leave many questions unanswered. At times, her skepticism does get a bit annoying, but can be easily ignored.

I personally am particularly drawn to City Hall Park and Wall Street. Though documenting New York City through photography was popular at the time, Strand took what could easily have been simply another snapshot and thru carefully monitored composition and light, as well as a momentary element of chance, turned it into an incredible piece of art. Specifically, in Wall Street, the stark, intimidating face of the JP Morgan building and it's enormous black windows tower over the crowd trudging their way to work early one morning, leaves me with a sense of awe that he captured that moment with perfect composition, light, thought, and frankly, an absolute grace rarely seen in photography today. Outstanding.

The publishers handled the collection well. With a relatively heavy, smooth paper, rich sepia tones and excellent reproductions of the photographs, it feels like proper homage was paid to such incredible photographs. Also, their handling of the layout of the plates is well thought out and retrospectively elegant. Each plate is displayed on the right of the spread while the left page is blank, save an unobtrusive plate number. This is a wonderful book, a proud addition to my own collection, and hopefully yours.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative, daring, inspirational: Strand fans must see!, July 30, 2001

By 

armando conti (Hollis, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paul Strand circa 1916 (Hardcover)

Paul Strand unquestionably had a great career in photography and is one of the all time masters. But this book of his early work shows the depth of his artistic vision. Unconstrained by commercial pressures and reputation, much of Strand's early work shown in this book is graphically stronger, more "edgy", and more compelling than his later work, as acclaimed as it is.

If you love Strand's later work, this book, at the very least, will be meaningful to you by showing you a glimpse of the development of this great photographer. Beyond that, you may love his early work and find it compelling and inspirational, as I do.