Walker Evans

Rating:
Summary: A Photographic Inspiration
Review: If you interested in seeing a retrospective of works by Walker Evans from the beginning of his career as a photographer to the end, this book is a great choice. The book features the collection from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Their collection, which includes over one hundred photographs, was purchased shortly after Evans death. This marvelous collection covers almost ever aspect of Evans career. From his early works in the 1930s where he photographed mainly Victorian houses in the United States and England to his works with the Farm Security Administration. The book also showcases their collection of Evans prints from the New York subway. All the prints are beautiful reproductions.
The book also includes a brief biography of Evans and the history of how the Minneapolis Institute acquired their extensive collection. One interesting inclusion was reproductions of the different stamps that Evans used on the backs of his photos.
A historian of American culture, Evans had a way with capturing the truth in every person or object with a unique sharpness. With his images of American tenant farm families to dilapidated buildings, Walker Evans secured his place in American photography as the portrayer of the American Spirit. Good book, great images, great choice.