beaumont newhall photography essays and images

Beaumont and Nancy Newhall collection

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Scope and Contents

These papers represent one important segment of the personal papers of Nancy Newhall, and to a lesser extent those of Beaumont Newhall. These letters and writings were culled by Beaumont Newhall, and were sent to the Center after Nancy Newhall's death in 1974. They were intended to complement the archive of Ansel Adams which had already been committed to the Center. Some of the Nancy Newhall papers were at one time integrated into the Adams archive, but an attempt has been made to return those papers to this collection. Researchers should, however, consult both collections, especially the correspondence series. The bulk of the material in this collection relates to the career of Nancy Newhall and begins in the late 1930s and continues until her death in 1974; a lesser amount of material is present for Beaumont Newhall, especially his Photography: Essays and Images, and his final revision of The History of Photography. The general correspondence, 1942 78, contains personal and business correspondence between the Newhalls and editors, publishers, artists, curators, museums and universities. Since the Newhalls worked together and often on similar topics, much of the personal correspondence is directed to both of them. However, in the specific business and subject files, the material is directed to that person with a major concern in the particular project. A selected index has been prepared to cover the many personal and institutional names in this correspondence. In addition, a selected index has been made for the Adams Newhall letters.

• Creation: 1930-1983
• Newhall, Beaumont, 1908-1993 (Person)
• Newhall, Nancy, 1908-1974 (Person)

Language of Materials

Conditions governing access.

To access materials from this collection, please contact [email protected]

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright to images and writings by the Newhalls is held in trust. For permission to copy or publish copyrighted materials in the CCP collection, contact: David Scheinbaum, Co-Executor of the Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Estate, 369 Montezuma Avenue, Suite 345, Santa Fe, NM 87501.

Biographical Notes

Beaumont Newhall Beaumont Newhall was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on June 22, 1908. Degrees in art history from Harvard (A.B. in 1930, M.A. in 1931) led to a brief stint as a lecturer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, then a position in the Department of Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. After further studies at the Institut d'Art et d'Archéologie, University of Paris and the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, Newhall was hired as the librarian at MOMA in 1935. In 1937, Newhall presented "Photography 1839-1937," an exhibition surveying the history of the medium that he had prepared at the invitation of Alfred H. Barr, the museum's director. An expanded version of Mr. Newhall's catalogue essay was published by the museum the following year as "Photography: A Short Critical History." A Guggenheim Foundation fellowship in 1947 enabled Newhall to enlarge this essay into a book, now titled "The History of Photography, 1839 to the Present." Revised by Newhall several times over the next 35 years, this book has become a standard general history of photography. Newhall was appointed the first curator of photography at MOMA in 1940, a position he held until 1945. From 1948 to 1958 Newhall was curator of the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House. He was its director from 1958 to 1971, during part of which time (1968-1971) he also professor of Art at State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1971, he moved to Albuquerque, where he became professor of Art at UNM until 1984. He was appointed professor emeritus upon his retirement. He died at his home in Santa Fe, from complications from a stroke, February 26, 1993. Nancy Newhall Nancy Newhall, née Nancy Wynne, was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on May 9, 1908. As a photography critic, conservationist, and editor, she was an important contributor to the development of the photograph book as an art form. Newhall attended Smith College and was a member of the Art Students League of New York. Her career began when in 1943 she became acting curator of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, substituting for her husband, Beaumont Newhall, the photography historian and founder of the department, while he was in military service. A founding member of Aperture magazine, Newhall helped to conceptually shape the publication and was a frequent contributor. She collaborated with many of the photographic luminaries of the day—Ansel Adams, Edward and Brett Weston, Paul Strand, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Minor White—writing text to accompany their images for magazine articles and books. Newhall died following a rafting accident while vacationing with her husband in Grand Teton National Park on July 7, 1974.

9.5 Linear Feet

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Additional Description

Correspondence, writings, and subject files, 1930-1983, of Beaumont Newhall (l908-1993), and Nancy Newhall (l908-1974), art historians, curators, teachers, and authors. Includes correspondence with noted photographers Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and others; published and unpublished manuscripts by Nancy Newhall concerning Ansel Adams, such as Death Valley (l953), The Eloquent Light (l963), and The Enduring Moment (ca.1971); writings by Beaumont Newhall including Photography: Essays and Images (l980) and his revised and enlarged edition of The History of Photography (l98l); and printed materials relating to their wide interests.

Arrangement

Series list:.

• Series I: Correspondence
• Series II: Writings
• Series III: Subject Files
• Series IV: Oversize Materials

Custodial History

This collection began as a gift from Beaumont Newhall to the CCP in 1975.

Related Names

• Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984 -- photography (Person)
• Weston, Edward, 1886-1958 -- photography (Person)
• Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984 (Person)
• Guggenheim Fellowship Project (Organization)
• Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.). Department of Film (Organization)
• Group f.64 (Organization)

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Repository details.

Part of the Center for Creative Photography Archives Repository

Collection organization

The Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Collection, Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona Libraries.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ESSAYS & IMAGES; ILLUSTRATED READINGS IN THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

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THIS ANTHOLOGY IS AN immensely valuable sourcebook for anyone interested in the history of photography. It includes 50 texts of various kinds from all periods of the medium’s past—essays by critics, historians, photographers; interviews with significant figures in the field; news reports of major events; and reports on technical advances—all illustrated profusely, and each introduced by a short background note by Beaumont Newhall. In form it is strongly reminiscent of Nathan Lyons’ 1966 Photographers on Photography . In fact, the two volumes complement each other well—while Newhall’s is weakest in its treatment of the 20th century, Lyons’ book doesn’t even attempt to deal with the 19th. Related LEAPS OF FAITH THE SOCIAL NETWORK

But Essays & Images can be looked at another way. Touted in the jacket copy as an excellent companion volume to Newhall’s History of Photography , it raises the question of just how good this version of history is. Moreover, it comes when the photographic world is eagerly awaiting the long-promised third edition of Newhall’s exceptionally influential History . In the 17 years since he issued his second edition, scholars from many fields have uncovered rich veins of significant material in photography. According to one ungenerous but widespread interpretation, the repeated delays in the publication of Newhall’s Third may be the result of cold feet—or judicious caution—in the face of this flood of new information. Essays & Images will obviously be seen by some as a forecast of the next edition of the History .

People who read Essays & Images expecting to find major changes in Newhall’s account of the medium’s past will probably be disappointed. His heroes in 1980 are much the same as in 1964—or in 1937, when the first edition appeared. The figures he chooses as representative of the 19th century are indisputably important. Talbot and Brady, Rejlander and Cameron, Robinson and Emerson—all should be here, and all are. However, serious gaps remain. The French calotypists of the 1840s and ’50s are not represented (although a review of the marvelous, atypical Nadar, and Baudelaire’s polemic against the medium, both from 1859, are included). Too little attention is given to topographical photography of the 19th century—only an 1859 article by Francis Frith and a report on Timothy O’Sullivan’s work, from 1869, deal with the subject.

In treating the 20th century, Newhall is not only recounting and interpreting history, but presenting events and arguments that he has taken an active part in. In the small world that was photography until a decade or so ago, in which everyone of necessity wore more than one hat, Newhall had a whole closetful of caps. As historian, critic, curator and administrator, Newhall has long been one of the leading defenders and propagators of the photographic faith. As such, and as a close friend of various photographers, Newhall has emphasized, in his writing and elsewhere, certain kinds of work—notably the Purist photography of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Paul Strand and others. Purism decreed that photographic quality depends on the photographer recognizing and sticking to the physical characteristics unique to the medium. In his Purist ideals, Newhall has in many ways been photography’s Greenberg. But in his introduction in Essays & Images there’s a surprising sign that Newhall may finally be hedging his historical bets, when he says of the ’30s, “A new academy came into being: Purist photography . . . There was no alternate to this strict doctrine; the limitations of the medium must, they felt, be respected.” In subtle ways Essays & Images ultimately still carries forward the doctrine of Purism, which is represented by half a dozen articles, while other important critical currents, such as Constructivism or Surrealism, are given short shrift.

— Charles Hagen

—————————

Photography: Essays & Images; Illustrated Readings in the History of Photography , ed. Beaumont Newell, (New York: The Museum of Modern Art), 328 pages, 190 illustrations.

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Photography : Essays and Images; Illustrated Readings in the History of Photography

Published by Museum of Modern Art, 1981

ISBN 10: 0870703854 ISBN 13: 9780870703850

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Photography: Essays and Images - Illustrated Readings in the History of Photography

Published by Secker & Warburg, 1981

ISBN 10: 0436305054 ISBN 13: 9780436305054

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Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.97.

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Photography: Essays & Images

Newhall, Beaumont

Published by Museum of Modern Art, 1980

ISBN 10: 0870703870 ISBN 13: 9780870703874

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Photography : Essays and Images

Newhall, Beaumont (editor)

Published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1980

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Used - Hardcover Condition: Very Good

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. No markings, tight, clean. 327 pages.

Photography: Essays and Images

Beaumont Newhall (editor)

Published by The Museum of Modern Art - New York, 1980

Seller: Clarkean Books , Stoney Creek, ON, Canada

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Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First edition/printing. Book and jacket each in Near Fine condition. A sharp copy of this review of important people and events in the development of photography! Many B&W photos. Large 4to size with some weight, so possibly some extra postage required.

Photography : Essays & Images - illustrated readings in the History of Photography.

Beaumont Newhall [editor]:

Published by London: Secker & Warburg, 1981., 1981

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First UK edition (hardback). 4to (28cm by 21cm), 328pp. 190 text illustrations. Original grey cloth, dustwrapper. There is some minor rippling of the text block, else the book and the dustwrapper are in very good condition. ISBN 0436305054.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ESSAYS & IMAGES

Newhall, Beaumont editor

Published by Museum of Modern Art. New York, NY., 1980

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First Edition. First Printing. Soft Cover First Edition. Book condition is Very Good Plus to About Near Fine 8 x 11 Inches in size. 327 numbered pages. Book condition is Very Good Plus to About Near Fine.

Published by Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd, London, 1981

ISBN 10: 0436305062 ISBN 13: 9780436305061

Seller: Besleys Books PBFA , Diss, United Kingdom

Soft Cover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Paperback. 327pp. Illus. Slight wear to covers. Small marking to top edge. Gift message to inside front cover. Well illustrated. A decent copy. (bs44).

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Photography: Essays & Images. Illustrated Readings in the History of Photography.

Edited by Beaumont Newhall.

Published by London: Secker & Warburg., 1981

Seller: West Grove Books , London, United Kingdom

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Tall 4to. First British edition. 328 pp. and with 190 b&w photos in text. In the publisher's grey cloth boards, gilt-stamped to spine, and with an unclipped, illustrated wrapper. Beaumont Newhall has spent a lifetime studying and teaching the development of photography as an art. No other authority knows so well the literature from which the 53 pieces in this book have been selected. Text block in near-fine condition, wrapper very slightly rubbed at head.

Published by Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1980

Seller: The Chatham Bookseller , Madison, NJ, U.S.A.

Used - Hardcover Condition: Fine

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. 327pp, gray boards with titles in gilt on spine. Gray textured endpapers, pages clean inside - unmarked and showing no sign of age toning. White jacket with gold titles on spine and front cover. Black and white photo centered on front cover of jacket. Back cover blank except for ISBN in black. Faint toning to jacket but only at extremities. Jacket presented under mylar.

Photography: Essays & Images Illustrated Readings in the History of Photography

Newhall, Beaumont (Editor)

Published by MOMA, New York, 1980

Seller: Royoung Bookseller, Inc. ABAA , Ardsley, NY, U.S.A.

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Hardcover. Second edition. 328 pages. 28 x 20 cm. A selection of 190 photographs illustrate Beaumont's text. Index. Orig. gray basket weave cloth. Fine in fine dust wrapper.

Photography: Essays & Images Illustrated Readings in the History of Photography.

NEWHALL, BEAUMONT; Editor.

Published by New York; The Museum of Modern Art; 1980., 1980

Seller: Time Booksellers , Somerville, VIC, Australia

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First Edition; Demy 4to; pp. 328; illustrated with 190 b/w. photographs, index, original grey cloth, title lettered in gilt on spine, dustjacket, fine copy. This handsomely illustrated volume presents a fascinating pictorial and literary experience, bringing to life through their own words - and photographs - the scientists, artists, philosophers, innovators, and entrepreneurs who in the last century and a half have formulated a new art and a new era of communication.

Photography, Essays & Images: Illustrated Readings in the History of Photography.

Published by Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1980

Seller: Kurt Gippert Bookseller (ABAA) , Chicago, IL, U.S.A.

Association Member: ABAA ILAB MWABA

Used - Hardcover Condition: Very good+ condition

Hardcover. Condition: Very good+ condition. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good+ condition (DJ). First Edition. 327 pages of text including an index. Hardcover binding with a small bump to the bottom of the spine. Unclipped dustjacket with minimal yellowing and minimal shelfwear; protected in archival mylar. Illustrated with 190 black & white photographs. The text is clean and unmarked. First edition. Size: Quarto (4to). Book.

Photography: Essays & IMages

BEaumont Newhall, editor

Published by Secker & Warburg, London, 1981

Seller: Neil Holliday , Dymock, United Kingdom

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 1st Edition. TExtured deep grey cloth with just a hint of sunning to edges. No inscriptions. Jacket is not price clipped, generally sound. Contents very clean and tight. Photo illustrations. A very reasonable copy.

Photography: Essay & Images. Illustrated Reading in the History of Photography.

Newhall, Beaumont (Hrsg.). - SIGNIERTES EXEMPLAR.

Published by New York / Boston, The Museum of Modern Art /New York Graphic Society Books / Little, Brown and Company (1980)., 1980

Seller: Antiquariat Cassel & Lampe Gbr - Metropolis Books Berlin , Berlin, D, Germany

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4�. 327 (1) Seiten. Mit zahlr. Fotoabbildungen. Fotoillustr. Orig.-Karton. Einbandr�nder etw. vergibt. Erste Ausgabe. - Mit eigenh�ndiger Signatur des Verfassers a. Titelblatt. - Besitzvermerk v. Privat a. Vorsatz. Insgesamt sch�nes, sauberes Exemplar. // First paperback edition, signed by the author on title page. - Pictorial softcover, 327 pp. richly illustrated throughout. - Cover edges a bit yellowed, former owner's name inscription on first page. Otherwise very nice and clean copy. - ". an authentic source book for the students of the history of photography as an art and a narrative for the general reader". - Including an index. Sprache: Englisch.

newhall Beaumont

Published by secker & Warburg, London, 1981

Seller: powellbooks Somerset UK. , Ilminster, SOM, United Kingdom

Association Member: IOBA

Soft cover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. This handsomely illustrated volume presents a fascinating pictorial literary experience, bringing to life through their own words - and photographs- the scientists, artists, philosophers, innovators, and entrepreneurs who in the last century and a half have formulated a new era of communication. The covers does show signs of shelf wear and their is a crease across the top front corner.

Newhall, Beaumont [Herausgeber/ Editor]

Published by London. Secker & warburg., 1981

Seller: Antiquariat Querido - Frank Hermann , D�sseldorf, NRW, Germany

Erste Auflage. 28,5 x 21,5 cm. 327 S. OLeinen mit illustriertem OUmschlag. Umschlagkanten st�rker nachgedunkelt und mit kleinen Bereibungen, insgesamt angestaubt. Sonst noch gutes Exemplar. Durchgehend mit fotografischen Abbildungen versehen. Text in englischer Sprache.

Newhall, Beaumont Editor

Seller: Old New York Book Shop, ABAA , Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.

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Original Wraps. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Small Quarto. 320pp + index illustrated. A very good copy in wraps. Signed by the author Signed by Author.

PHOTOGRAPHY Essays & Images

Seller: Rare Book Cellar , Pomona, NY, U.S.A.

Hardcover. First Edition; First Printing. Very Good in a Very Good dust jacket. ; 10.94 X 8.35 X 1.10 inches; 328 pages.

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Photography, essays & images

Illustrated readings in the history of photography, by beaumont newhall.

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Beaumont Newhall

Beaumont Newhall (1908–1993) was an art historian, writer, photographer and the first curator of photography at Museum of Modern Art, New York (1940-1945). His book The History of Photography (1949) remains one of the most significant accounts in the field and has become a classic photo history textbook.

• 1 Biography
• 2 Publications
• 3 Literature

Biography [ edit ]

Newhall studied art history and museum studies at Harvard University (1930). In 1937, he mounted a survey exhibition of photography for the Museum of Modern Art, Photography, 1839-1937 . The 800-work exhibition toured the country and the catalog for the show became a staple for the history of photography. Ironically, Newhall's treatment of photography as high art rankled the museum's board of trustees, who accepted public criticism that the Museum was turning a popular medium into an avenue of snobbery. [1] In 1948, Beaumont Newhall became the first Curator of Photography at the George Eastman House, and then served as its Director from 1958 to 1971, building a significant photography collection. After his retirement, Newhall accepted a position as Visiting Professor of Art at the University of New Mexico, where he helped to establish the first doctoral program in the history of photography at an American university [2] . He died at his home in Santa Fe, from complications from a stroke, February 26, 1993 [3] .

Publications [ edit ]

• editor, Photography 1839-1937 , New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1937, ARG . Catalogue for the 1937 exhibition . [4]
• A Short Critical History of Photography , 1940.
• Historia de la fotografia , trans. Homero Alsina Thevenet, 2002. (Spanish)
• with Nancy Newhall, Masters of Photography , New York: Castle Books & George Braziller, Inc., 1958; 1968, IA .
• Frederick Evans , 1964.
• Latent Image: The Discovery of Photography , Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967.
• Airborne Camera: The World from the Air and Outer Space , New York: Hastings House, 1969.
• The Daguerreotype in America , New York: Dover Publications, 1961; 3rd ed. rev., 1975, PDF , IA , 1976.
• Photography, Essays & Images: Illustrated Readings in the History of Photography , New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1980.
• In Plain Sight: The Photographs of Beaumont Newhall , 1983.
• Focus: Memoirs of a Life in Photography , Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1993.

Literature [ edit ]

• Perspectives on Photography: Essays in Honor of Beumont Newhall , Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1986.
• Marquis, Alice Goldfarb, Alfred H. Barr, Jr.: Missionary for the Modern , Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1989, pp 137-138.
• Ya'ara Gil Glazer, "A new kind of history? The challenges of contemporary histories of photography" , Journal of Art Historiography 3 (Dec 2010).

Links [ edit ]

• Newhall in the Dictionary of Art Historians
• Newhall at Social Archive
• Beaumont and Nancy Newhall papers, 1843-1993
• Newhall at CreativePhotography.org
• Newhall at Wikipedia
• Photography
• Art history

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Straight Photography

The term “straight photography” was popularized by critic Sadakichi Hartmann, who often wrote for Camera Work . In a 1904 article titled “A Plea for Straight Photography,” Hartmann bemoaned the excessive handwork and painterly flourishes that characterized much of what he saw in Pictorialist photography, arguing, “We expect an etching to look like an etching, and a lithograph to look like a lithograph, why then should not a photographic print look like a photographic print?” [1]

Nearly a decade later Stieglitz would begin to focus on straight photography in his own work, a change that paralleled his discovery and exhibition of modern painting, drawing, and sculpture at 291. In a 1916 letter, Stieglitz described his most recent work as “intensely direct. . . . Not a trace of hand work on either negative or prints. No diffused focus. Just the straight goods. On [some things] the lens stopped down to 128. But everything simplified in spite of endless detail.” [2] Stieglitz’s devotion to straight photography was manifested in certain key artistic decisions: his refusal to crop the negative as he had done in earlier years; his tendency to employ contact printing rather than enlarging the negative; and his preference for the relative sharpness of platinum, palladium, or gelatin silver prints.

The modernist straight photographers whom Stieglitz would promote later in his career included Paul Strand, Ansel Adams, and Eliot Porter. The final issue of Camera Work was devoted entirely to Strand, an emerging photographer at the time, whose work Stieglitz described as “brutally direct.” In an essay reprinted in that volume, Strand advocated an approach that respected both the limitations and the potential qualities of the medium, “accomplished without tricks of process or manipulation, through the use of straight photographic methods.” [3]

[1] Sadakichi Hartmann, “A Plea for Straight Photography,” American Amateur Photographer 16 (Mar. 1904), pp. 101–09; reprinted in Beaumont Newhall, ed. Photography: Essays and Images (Museum of Modern Art, New York 1980), p. 186.

[2] Alfred Stieglitz to R. Child Bayley, Nov. 1, 1916, Alfred Stieglitz/Georgia O’Keeffe Archive, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, box 4, folder 88.

[3] Paul Strand, “Photography,” Seven Arts 2, 524–25 (Aug. 1917), reprinted in Camera Work 49–50 (June 1917), p. 3.

Architecture, Early California Cemetery , 1932/36, printed 1936

Georgia O’Keeffe—Hands and Thimble , 1919

Equivalent , 1923

Piscina in Chancel of Little Snoring Church, Norfolk, England , c. 1905

Porch Shadows , 1916

Windmill , 1932

Autumn, Yosemite Valley , c. 1933, printed 1936

Grass and Burned Wood , 1935

Jonathan , 1938

Rebecca Salsbury Strand , 1922

From Room “3003” – The Shelton, New York, Looking Northeast , 1927

Marsden Hartley , 1916

Arthur G. Dove , 1912

Ma , 1915/17

Georgia Engelhard , 1920

Arthur G. Dove , 1923

John Marin , 1921/22

Waldo Frank , 1920

Katharine Dudley , 1922

Sherwood Anderson , 1923

Gable and Apples , 1922

Poplars—Lake George , 1935

The Old Maple—Lake George , 1926

Tree Set 3 , c. 1924

Hedwig Stieglitz , 1921/22

Rainbow , 1920

Barn, Lake George , 1936

Dualities – Dorothy Norman , 1932

Dorothy Norman , c. 1931

Dorothy Norman , 1930

Georgia O’Keeffe , 1918

Georgia O’Keeffe—Hand , 1918

Georgia O’Keeffe , 1933

Georgia O’Keeffe – Feet , 1918

Georgia O’Keeffe , 1922

Georgia O’Keeffe , 1919/21

Georgia O’Keeffe—Hands , 1920/22

Georgia O’Keeffe , 1919/20

Georgia O’Keeffe – Hands and Horse Skull , 1931

Georgia O’Keeffe—Neck , 1921

Georgia O’Keeffe—Torso , 1918

House and Grape Leaves , 1934

Lake George , 1922

Car 2F-77-77 , 1935

Lake George from the Hill , 1932

Grass and Frost , 1934

First Snow and the Little House , 1923

The Dying Chestnut , 1919

Door to Kitchen, Lake George , 1934

The Dancing Trees , 1922

Poplars—Lake George , 1932

Lake george , c. 1922.

Music – A Sequence of Ten Cloud Photographs, No. II , 1922

Window: wood, glass, snow , 1923, grass and flagpole , 1933.

Grass , 1933

Barn—Lake George , 1922

Hedge and Grasses – Lake George , 1933

The Dying Chestnut Tree—My Teacher , 1927

From My Window at the Shelton, West , 1931

From My Window at An American Place, Southwest , 1932

New York from the Shelton , 1935

From My Window at An American Place, North , 1930/31

From My Window at An American Place, North , 1931

Equivalent , c. 1929

Equivalent , 1931

Equivalent , 1924

Spiritual America: Songs of the Sky A1 , 1923

Equivalent , 1930

Equivalent, from Set E (Print 2) , 1923

Equivalent, from Set E (Print 1) , 1923

Equivalent, from Set E (Print 3) , 1923

Equivalent , 1929

Equivalent , 1925

Equivalent , 1926

Equivalent , 1927

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 1) , 1929

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 2) , 1929

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 3) , 1929

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 5) , 1929

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 4) , 1929

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 7) , 1929

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 8) , 1929

Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 6) , 1929

York Minster: Looking from the Chapter House Interior , c. 1902

The Steerage , 1907, printed 1915

Frame Building , 1916

Andrew Cahan: Bookseller, Ltd.

Specializing in Photography, from the Pre-history to the Modern Era

PHOTOGRAPHY: ESSAYS & IMAGES. ILLUSTRATED READINGS IN THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY:

NY: The Museum of Modern Art, 1960. First edition. 4to., 327 pp., numerous b&w photos. Illustrated stiff wrappers. A near fine copy. Item #52497 A partial list of the contents as follows: "Photography Predicted" by Tiphaigne de la Roche, 1760; "An Account of a Method of Copying Paintings upon Glass, and of Making Profiles, by the Agency of Light upon Nitrate of Silver" by Thomas Wedgwood and Sir Humphry Davy, 1802; "The First News Accounts of the Daguerreotype" 1839; "The Stereoscope and the Stereograph" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1863; "Upon Photography in an Artistic View, and its Relation to the Arts" by Sir William J. Newton, 1853; and approx. 50 more articles up to 1971.

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Photography: Essays and Images Paperback – October 1, 1990

• Language English
• Publisher Harry N. Abrams
• Publication date October 1, 1990
• ISBN-10 0810960621
• ISBN-13 978-0810960626
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams (October 1, 1990)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0810960621
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0810960626

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Beaumont newhall.

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Columbia University in the City of New York

Miriam and ira d. wallach art gallery.

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Moscow: City, Spectacle, Capital of Photography

April 30–june 21, 2003.

Moscow: City, Spectacle, Capital of Photography , an exhibition of 20th-century photographs of Moscow, opens at Columbia University's Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 and remains on display through Saturday, June 21, 2003.

Moscow has been a powerful magnet for many Russian photographers of the 20th century. Moscow: City, Spectacle, Capital of Photography presents the work of 31 photographers, whose images have defined the visual experience of Moscow from the 1920s to the present. Diverse in form and strategy, the 90 photographs chosen for the exhibition trace the history of Russian documentary photography and offer insight into individual practices. From Aleksandr Rodchenko's constructivist visions and Evgenii Khaldei's humanist landscapes to Igor Moukhin's scenes of urban spectacle and alienation in the works of Russia's key 20th-century photographers, Moscow ventures beyond the expected image as a site of famous landmarks, architectural treasures and dramatic lifestyles.

Early 20th-century photographers Boris Ignatovich and Arkadii Shaikhet saw themselves in the vanguard of an emerging mass-media culture, defining with their cameras the visual experience of Soviet modernity. For nearly 70 years, Soviet photography was assigned the duty of maintaining the ideological rigidity of the Soviet State. Yet, as examples of the work of Iakov Khalip, Anatolii Egorov, Mikhail Savin, and Mark Markov-Grinberg show, Soviet photographic practices were much more complex than has been previously acknowledged. The works of these photographers remain intensely compelling to a modernist eye.

Contemporary Russian photographers, such as Lev Melikhov, Valerii Stigneev and Sergei Leontiev, engage with the legacy of the Soviet documentary photography. But for them the documentary is a complex and multivalent genre, which incorporates subjectivity, ambiguity and reflexivity and comments on social and cultural issues without losing sight of the position from which that commentary is made. In the recent photographs by Vladimir Kupriyanov, Igor Moukhin, Anna Gorunova and Pakito Infante, the "real" space of Moscow is replaced by an imaginary and optical spaces of virtuality.

The works in the exhibition are on loan from Moscow's Cultural Center Dom, and many are being shown outside Russia for the first time. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Wallach Art Gallery is publishing an illustrated catalogue with a scholarly essay by the exhibition curator, Nadia Michoustina, a Ph.D. candidate in Columbia University's Department of Slavic Languages. The essay presents a nuanced history of Russian photography of the 20th century, and contributes to an interpretation of extraordinary images.

Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Apr 24 2017

City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Moscow, Russia

*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!

At over 12 million people, Moscow is the largest city in Russia and second largest in Europe by population ( Istanbul is #1). An urban, cosmopolitan metropolis with more than enough glitz and glam to cater to the elite, but without losing its fair share of Soviet era roughness around the edges. It can be fast paced, brash, busy, and trendy like other big cities, but it has its blend of West meets Russia atmosphere and beauty that provides plenty of unique interest. The Red Square is as famous as it gets, but there’s so much more to this city, including the most beautiful subway system you’ve ever seen. It would take years to capture all of Moscow, but that means you have an endless amount of areas to discover.

So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Moscow has to offer before you even arrive!

• Patriarch’s Pond
• Old Arbat Street
• Maroseyka Street
• Tverskoy Boulevard

Top 5 Street Spots:

1. red square.

The Red Square is the most famous square in not just Russia, but all of Eastern Europe. The name actually doesn’t come from the color of the bricks or communism, but from the name in Russian, Krásnaya, once meaning “beautiful” before its meaning changed to “red.” This large plaza is what you see on the cover of guide books and magazines for Moscow, with St. Basil’s Cathedral being the center piece next to Lenin’s Mausoleum surrounded by the Kremlin Wall. Of course, the Red Square attracts hordes of tourist due to the main attractions, but all that activity around an interesting atmosphere does provide street photo opportunities. It’s also the central square connecting to the city’s major streets, providing a good starting point to explore outward.

You’ll also find the popular pedestrian only Nikolskaya Street connecting the Red Square to Lubyanka Square. This line of expensive shops includes plenty of activity, while also leading you to another popular square. Filled with history rivaling any city, the Red Square and surrounding areas are the heart and soul of Russia.

2. Patriarch’s Ponds

Patriarch’s Ponds is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Moscow. Despite the name being plural, there’s only one large pond, but it’s worth a visit with your camera. It’s a popular spot for locals and expats to come relax or take a stroll around the pond. You get an interesting mix of young and old too, from young love to “babushkas” feeding pigeons. It’s a very peaceful park atmosphere in one of the nicer areas within the city center, while bringing enough activity for street photography. 

The pond is shallow and in the winter becomes a popular spot for ice-skating too. The area is also well-known for the location in the famous Russian novel, The Master and Margarita. 

3. Old Arbat (Stary Arbat)

Old Arbat is the most famous pedestrian street in Moscow, and dating back to the 15th century, also one of its oldest. Originally, it was an area of trade, but soon became the most prestigious residential area in Moscow. During the 18th century, Arbat started attracting the city’s scholars and artists, including Alexander Pushkin. Cafes lined the streets and impressive homes filled the neighborhood. Since then, New Arbat street was created as a highway in the area, while Old Arbat was paved for a 1km pedestrian only walkway.

Due to the historic buildings, famous artists that lived here, and the bohemian atmosphere, Old Arbat has become a big attraction for tourists today. Now, there’s a mix of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, street performers, street merchants and other attractions for visitors, and some locals, to come enjoy. It can get really busy here and there’s usually something interesting going on so it’s a good street to come walk with your camera for guaranteed life.

4. Gorky Park

One of the most famous places in Moscow is Gorky Park. The official name is Maxim Gorky’s Central Park of Culture & Leisure, which gives you an idea of what goes on here. When built, it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Divided into two parts, it stretches along Moscow River. One end contains fair rides, foods stands, tennis courts, a sports club, a lake for boat rides, and more. This end brings more active life due to its number of attractions, while the other end is more relaxed, where you’ll find gardens, trees, older buildings, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Gorky Park attracts mostly locals so it’s a good spot to capture the non-tourist side of Moscow life. Muscovites come here to escape the city and unwind in a picturesque setting. The park remains alive outside of the warmer months too, especially when the lake turns into the city’s largest outdoor skating rink. I’d recommend taking the metro out here to spend at least half a day exploring the massive park’s life with your camera.

5. Maroseyka Street

Maroseyka Street is a popular area not too far from the Red Square. The long, winding street turns into Pokrovka and is lined with restaurants, cafes, bars and places to stay. It’s actually where I like to stay when I’m in Moscow due to its location and solid street photography opportunities itself. You have Kitay-gorod station near and if you keep walking southwest, you’ll get to the Red Square. But if you walk northwest, as it changes to Pokrovka, you can find a long street of activity for photography with its own interesting atmosphere.

6. Tverskoy Boulevard

Tverskoy Boulevard is the oldest and longest boulevard in Moscow, beginning at the end of Nikitsky Boulevard, and finishing at Pushkin Square, a spot to come for activity itself. The boulevard is made up of two avenues, with pedestrian walkways in-between. You’ll find grass, shrubbery, trees, benches and more walking it’s almost kilometer length. Many people come here to enjoy some relaxation, walk their dog, or just to use it to walk wherever they’re going. Its center location also provides a nice place to walk with your camera near plenty of other spots you’ll want to check out anyway.

Sample Street Walk:

For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Moscow:

• Start your morning walking around the Red Square (1), while exploring the surrounding area, including Nikolskaya Street
• Then walk northwest to Patriarch’s Ponds (2) and slowly walk the pond and surrounding area with your camera
• Next, walk east to the Pushkin Monument and stroll down Tverskoy Boulevard (6)
• Once Tverskoy Boulevard (6) ends, it will turn into Nikitsky Boulevard. Follow this down until you get to the start of Old Arbat Street (3), across from Arbatskaya station
• After you’re done walking down Old Arbat Street (3) for more street photography, spend some time checking out Moscow’s beautiful metro stations
• To finish off the day with more street photography, get off the metro near Red Square (1) again, Maroseyka Street (5) or wherever you’re staying for the night.

3 Things I’ll Remember about Shooting in Moscow:

1. museum metro.

The Moscow metro system was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union and today includes 203 stations across 340km of routes. The elaborate system has some of the deepest stations in the world too, with escalators that seem to go on forever. None of this is what makes it so special, though. Many of its stations feel like stepping inside a museum, making it without a doubt the most interesting and beautiful metro system I’ve been in.

When built, Stalin wanted to make the metro stations “palaces for the people” with marble, chandeliers, and grand architecture. The best part is the variety of architecture and styles used, making many of the stations a completely different experience visually. You could easily spend a whole day traveling the stations and there are even tours available for people who wish to do just that. My advice, though, would be just to buy a ticket and hop on and off at different stations, while exploring different lines. The museum-like surrounding mixed with the crowds of characters can make for a great photography experience.

Since there are so many stations, here are some of my favorites to check out:

• Novoslobodskaya
• Mayakovskaya
• Elektrozavodskaya
• Komsomolskaya
• Ploschad Revolyutsii
• Dostoyevskaya
• Prospekt Mira

2. Moscow is Big

It’s no secret that Moscow is a big city, but it can feel even bigger with how spread out much of it is. This is especially true if you compare it to cities outside of Asia. If I compared it to cities in Europe, I’d probably say only Istanbul would warrant more time to really discover the depths of this city. Most only explore around the Red Square and surrounding area, but that is such a small part of the city. Although, that central area does give you plenty to see on its own.

Fortunately, I had a good friend living in the city to show me around, but it opened up my eyes even more to how much there is to discover in Moscow. It’s a big city with a variety of atmosphere that can take you from “east” to “west” and trendy to rugged depending on where you go. I’d imagine you’d have to live here a while to really know the city.

3. Cosmopolitan Mix of East meets West

Modern skyscrapers mixed with amazing architecture, a world-class metro system with museum-like beauty, trendy fashion and chic clubs, Moscow is a rich mix of Russian culture and history in a more western cosmopolitan package. There is a push to keep the Russian culture, while also pushing forward with a modern metropolis the whole world will envy. This comes with an impressive skyline, that continues to grow, and endless modernities, but with soviet nostalgia and atmosphere mixed in for good measure.

Mixed in with this grand western cosmopolitan atmosphere, is a strong national pride in Russia. This includes their famous leader, Vladimir Putin. Maybe no other place will you see a country’s leader more often. All over, from the pricey tourist shops to the underground walkway stalls, you’ll find goods with Putin’s likeness covering them. From t-shirts to magnets to Matryoshka dolls. There’s a strong national pride that can be seen around the city, which also extends to their leader. Moscow is many things. It’s East meets West, modernizations meets Soviet era, and a whole lot more.

What To Do For a Street Photography Break?:

Eat at a stolovaya.

Stolovayas are Russian cafeterias that became popular in the Soviet days. You grab a tray and walk down the line of freshly prepared local dishes, and select whatever you want from the chefs. They’re usually inexpensive and a much better value than restaurants, while giving you the opportunity to try from a wide selection of everyday Russian food. They’re also very tasty. I always include some borsch on my tray and go from there. The places themselves are all over Moscow and usually come with Soviet-era aesthetics to complete the experience.

Street Safety Score: 7

*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!

Being the 2nd largest city in Europe with over 12 million people, you’re going to have your dangerous areas, but for the most part, it feels safe walking around. Russia is statistically higher in crime compared to most of Europe, but this generally doesn’t apply to tourists and visitors. Around the Red Square and surrounding city center, you should feel completely safe walking around. Pick pocketing can happen, but no more than other touristic places. I always explore Moscow freely without coming across too much to worry about. It’s a spread out city, though, so of course it matters where you are. Just use basic street smarts, know where you are and Moscow shouldn’t give you a problem. 

People’s Reaction Score: 7

Moscow is fast paced, big city life, which usually means people aren’t too concerned with you, or your camera. I don’t find people notice or pay much attention to me when I’m out taking photos in Moscow. For the most part, people just go about their day. You shouldn’t get too many looks or concern. But it can depend on the area you are in. The more you stick out, the more you might get noticed with suspicions. I’ve never had any problems in Moscow, or Russia, but just be careful who you’re taking a photo of if you get out of the city center. Other than that, it’s about average for reactions. 

Street Tips:

Learn the alphabet .

Much of Moscow, including the metro system, doesn’t use english. The Russian alphabet uses letters from the Cyrillic script, which if you aren’t familiar with it and don’t know the sounds, can be hard to decipher the words. This is most important for street names and metro stops when trying to get around. It can save confusion and make it easier getting around if you learn the basic alphabet. At the very least then, you can sound out the words to see which are similar in the english conversion, which can help matching them to maps. When out shooting street photography, getting around is as important as anything. So save yourself some time and frustration by learning the Russian Alphabet.

Use the metro

While Saint-Petersburg feels very walkable for a city its size, Moscow can feel very spread out, even for its bigger size. Outside of the Red Square area, you can have plenty of walking before getting anywhere very interesting, so you’ll need to take the metro a lot if you really want to explore the city. Maps are deceiving here too, it will always be further than it looks.

Another reason it’s less walkable than Saint-Petersburg is its completely different set-up. Moscow’s streets are mostly contstructed in rings with narrow, winding streets in-between. This is common with medieval city cities that used to be confined by walls, but you usually don’t have it in a city this massive. Saint-Petersburg has a more grid-like pattern that also uses the canals to help you know your way around. When it comes to navigating on foot in Moscow, it can be more difficult, so bring a map and take the metro when needed. It’s why Moscow’s metro carries more passengers per day than the London and Paris subways combined.

Explore other areas if you have time

Moscow is really big. While most people stay around the Red Square within the Boulevard Ring, there’s so much more to the city. I covered some other spots outside of this circle, but if you really want to see the city, you’ll need time. If you do have time, some other areas I’d check out first are Zamoskvarechye, along some of the south and western Moscow.

Inspiration:

For some more inspiration, you can look through the Street Photography of Moscow photographer Artem Zhitenev  and check out 33 of my photos taken in Moscow .

Conclusion:

Moscow’s name brings a certain mystique, but once you’re there it might bring a different atmosphere than you expect. It’s big and sprawling, but beautiful in many ways. It can feel like a European capital on a grand scale, but you can definitely find its Russian side in there.

The urban sprawl of Moscow can be intimidating, but give it enough time and you’ll be rewarded with plenty to discover. All with the world’s best metro system to take you around.

I hope this guide can help you start to experience some of what Moscow contains. So grab your camera and capture all that Moscow has to offer for Street Photography!

If you still have any questions about shooting in Moscow, feel free to comment below or email me!

(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)

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