From Adams to Stieglitz: Pioneers of Modern Photography

by Nancy Wynne Newhall, Michael E. Hoffman (Foreword), Beaumont Newhall (Introduction)

Nancy Newhall wrote some of the most incisive work ever published on the inner lives of the photographers who shaped the medium. Her friendship with photographers such as Paul Strand, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Helen Levitt, to name a few, lends her writing a vibrancy rarely found in essays on photography.

Newhall was one of the few people to gain access to the inner circle--and thoughts--of the imposing Alfred Stieglitz, and her intimate portrait of him, previously unpublished, reveals a man of genius, humor, and kindness.

Genres: Photography

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I picked this up for $5, and have found it to be really much better than I expected. It's written by Nancy Newhall, a photographer who wrote about photographers in the 1940's through 70's. She has an interesting writing style, and I enjoyed learning little snippets about the artist's she's featured. Many of the writings are from the 40's, which might be annoying to some readers, but taken in the right light, I found them enlighening.

[Stephen Coates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although finished close to her death in 1974, the book covers the period from late in the 19th century when the basic technologies of photography had been established until the early 1950s. However, instead of discussing the technology or the evolution of photography as a practice, the book is largely a discussion of the leading lights of photography at the time including Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Edward Weston, Brett Weston and Alfred Stieglitz, their development as artists, some of the changing fashions of photography which was, at that time, not recognised by the leading public art galleries and museums as art, although it was eventually accepted as such at the end of the period covered. Although the book itself includes few photographers, Ms Newhall’s text vividly brings the work of the photographers covered to life and has prompted me to look for books featuring their work in my local libraries.

[Roniq · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about who's who in the photography world