An Eye for the Coast: The Maritime and Monhegan Island Photographs of Eric Hudson

Rating:
Summary: A Thoughfully Presented Collection of Specilized Photographs
Review: AN EYE FOR THE COAST: THE MARITIME AND MONHEGAN ISLAND PHOTOGRAPHS OF ERIC HUDSON is a work (and a labor of love by its editors)which will be primarily of interest to specialists, including those interested in small ship design and in the history of maritime New England at the turn of the century. The books consists of roughly 100 glass-plate photographs of boats, fisherfolk and shoreline scenes taken along the Massachusetts Coast and on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine between l890 and l920. Clearly, Hudson intended to create a photographic record in his plates, and for the most part, that's what the viewer gets. While much of the subject matter is interesting and informative (the extended, businesslike captions are well done), only a few of the pictures have a significant artistic quotient. Unfortunately, the quality of the reproductions in this book is not very good, and many of the images are grey, washed out or lacking in contrast. This may be attributable in part to the poor condition of the original plates and also to the failure of the publisher to use a coated stock. For an example of a similar work with much better photographs and superb reproductions, see A PACIFIC LEGACY: A CENTURY OF MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHY 1850-1950 published in l991. Although they are represented in a number of museum collections, I am not familiar with Hudson's paintings. However, one example reproduced in color on the back cover of AN EYE FOR THE COAST suggests that he may have been a far better painter than he was a photographer. For another review of this book with a different perspective, see page 58 of the January, l999 issue of ANTIQUES Magazine.