Photographing America: Henri Cartier-Bresson / Walker Evans: 1929-1947

Description

Walker Evans and Henri Cartier-Bresson belonged to the same generation and shared an insatiable intellectual curiosity. Their works had been exhibited together in 1935 at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York and they shared a period working in America when Cartier-Bresson spent eighteen months between 1946 and 1947 preparing his show at The Museum of Modern Art. This book draws a parallel between the work about America made by Evans and Cartier-Bresson in the period from 1930 to 1947. As John Szarkowski argued, 'Evans defined in his work the essence of the documentary aesthetic.' Cartier-Bresson, on the other hand, was making a fresh start, leaving behind his work in moving imagery and fully embracing a career as a stills photographer. But they were both approaching their work as a form of social criticism, imbued with references to literature and painting. Photograph America presents an opportunity to confront and compare the visions of both of these seminal photographic masters at once.

Agnes Sire has been the director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris since its creation in 2003.

A gem that lets the photography do the talking. Highly recommended.-- "Choice" By looking at images made in the United States by both photographers from 1928-1948, with Evans at the height of his career and Cartier-Bresson just beginning his, one gets a unique perspective on the differing sensibilities of these two 20th Century giants.-- "Picturemagazine.com" This intriguing new book offers a fascinating opportunity to compare and contrast the work of the two photographic masters between 1929 and 1947.-- "France" This will appeal not only to all photographers, from amateurs to artists, but also to anyone interested in the history of photography and American social and cultural history. Highly recommended.-- "Library Journal" Two of history's greatest shutterbugs documented citizens during some of the country's leanest years- from the Great Depression to the end of WWII- producing haunting portraits of Dust Bowl austerity and postwar uncertainty.-- "Entertainment Weekly" Vintage black and white images pack a powerful survey of the perspectives and approaches of both in a collection highly recommended for any college-level art library strong in American image history and analysis. -- "Midwest Book Review"