Horace Bristol: An American View - Hardcover

Conner, Ken; Heimerdinger, Debra

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0811812626 ISBN 13: 9780811812627

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 1996

Synopsis

This beautiful and striking monograph, the first major publication of Horace Bristol's work, pays homage to his genius with over 100 exquisitely reproduced duotone images. In the tradition of the great populists Alfred Eisenstadt and Dorothea Lange, Horace Bristol used his camera to record human, intimate moments: from poignant images of migrant farm workers during the Depression (his photographs inspired Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath) to compelling portraits of post-war Japan and Southeast Asia. An early staff photographer for Life magazine, Bristol was wildly prolific in the '30s and '40s, and tireless in his pursuit of the revelatory moment. With a humility, precision, and formal composition that is as striking today as it was innovative in its own time, Horace Bristol's pioneering artistry assures his importance among the finest documentary photographers of our era.

About this title

Review:

This collection will do much to resurrect the reputation of the California native who became one of Life magazine's first staff photographers, only to burn much of his work after being devastated by personal tragedy in 1956. Bristol languished in obscurity for nearly three decades before a quirk of fate prompted him to reclaim his legacy. Among the images salvaged for posterity here are pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction, Depression era street scenes, farm laborers, assignments for Edward Steichen's special World War II photographic unit, and views of a bombed-out Tokyo.

About the Author:

Ken Conner is an editor at the San Francisco Chronicle and the author of two novels.

Debra Heimerdinger is a San Francisco-based photographer and curator whose exhibitions have included Ruth Bernhard, Keith Carter, and Sally Mann.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0811812626
• ISBN 13: 9780811812627
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144