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Constance: One Road to Take
Constance: One Road to Take is the first comprehensive book on the life and work of documentary photographer, Constance Stuart Larrabee, and covers South Africa during the period 1936–1949, war-torn France and Italy in 1944–1945, and the Chesapeake Bay area of USA after 1950. The book provides insights into the social and political backdrop against which she made her photographs in Southern Africa, draws on her unique war journal and depicts the beauty and tranquillity of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
About Constance Stuart Larrabee:
Her early career was spent in a South Africa that was divided into camps, white and black, Afrikaans- and English-speaking. Full-blown apartheid had not yet been introduced but South African society was marked by regimented townships, influx control, and segregated living areas. Despite her background, she managed to penetrate into the rural reserves and the townships. Her early photographs provide a unique lens into the lives of women and children living on the land while their husbands worked deep underground or in the factories that spilled out onto the ridges of the Witwatersrand.
Constance studied art both in England and Germany, and subsequently started a studio in Pretoria. Although the studio was successful, her prime interest lay in chronicling the lives of black people living in the countryside, and later in the city and mines. She covered the Allied advance in France and Italy towards the end of the war. In the late 1950s she married and settled in the USA, where she continued her photography.
The book includes 92 photographs, all but four of which are by Constance Stuart Larrabee, drawn from the several collections in the USA that now hold her works. 67 of the images are illustrated full page in the book and show Constance’s astonishing clarity and vision.
About Constance Stuart Larrabee:
Her early career was spent in a South Africa that was divided into camps, white and black, Afrikaans- and English-speaking. Full-blown apartheid had not yet been introduced but South African society was marked by regimented townships, influx control, and segregated living areas. Despite her background, she managed to penetrate into the rural reserves and the townships. Her early photographs provide a unique lens into the lives of women and children living on the land while their husbands worked deep underground or in the factories that spilled out onto the ridges of the Witwatersrand.
Constance studied art both in England and Germany, and subsequently started a studio in Pretoria. Although the studio was successful, her prime interest lay in chronicling the lives of black people living in the countryside, and later in the city and mines. She covered the Allied advance in France and Italy towards the end of the war. In the late 1950s she married and settled in the USA, where she continued her photography.
The book includes 92 photographs, all but four of which are by Constance Stuart Larrabee, drawn from the several collections in the USA that now hold her works. 67 of the images are illustrated full page in the book and show Constance’s astonishing clarity and vision.
210 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2018
1 person want to read
About the author
Peter Elliott
7 booksPeter Elliott has had a lifelong interest in both history and art. Peter was a career lawyer but now devotes his time to researching and writing books with an art history tilt.
His latest book is Looted! The Nazi Art Plunder of Jewish Families in France. It was released by Pen & Sword Books, UK, in October 2025. It is profiled on looted.com, Books and Publications:
Peter Elliott is the author of five previous books:
Thomas Muir: 'Lad O' Pairts': The Life and Work of Sir Thomas Muir (1844-1934), Mathematician and Cape Colonial Educationist. The book is recommended by Kathy Munro, on The Heritage Portal, as an 'even-handed biography full of appeal [which] does not shy away from the points of controversy around Muir’s attitudes and how policies of a century ago are to be evaluated today.’
Constance: One Road to Take. This book covers the life and photography of Constance Stuart Larrabee (1914-2000) and is described as an ‘important achievement’ by African Studies Review, June 2020, being the 'only full-length treatment of Larrabee’s life and art';
Nita Spilhaus (1878–1967) and her artist friends in the Cape, described as “a comprehensive resource” by South African Art Times, October 2015;
Eight Months in the Veneto, a story of the endurance and courage of British Liaison Officers with the partisans in the mountains of the Veneto, Italy. 1944-1945; and
Spilhaus: five hundred years of history (1450-1950), the story of a German/South African family.
His latest book is Looted! The Nazi Art Plunder of Jewish Families in France. It was released by Pen & Sword Books, UK, in October 2025. It is profiled on looted.com, Books and Publications:
Peter Elliott is the author of five previous books:
Thomas Muir: 'Lad O' Pairts': The Life and Work of Sir Thomas Muir (1844-1934), Mathematician and Cape Colonial Educationist. The book is recommended by Kathy Munro, on The Heritage Portal, as an 'even-handed biography full of appeal [which] does not shy away from the points of controversy around Muir’s attitudes and how policies of a century ago are to be evaluated today.’
Constance: One Road to Take. This book covers the life and photography of Constance Stuart Larrabee (1914-2000) and is described as an ‘important achievement’ by African Studies Review, June 2020, being the 'only full-length treatment of Larrabee’s life and art';
Nita Spilhaus (1878–1967) and her artist friends in the Cape, described as “a comprehensive resource” by South African Art Times, October 2015;
Eight Months in the Veneto, a story of the endurance and courage of British Liaison Officers with the partisans in the mountains of the Veneto, Italy. 1944-1945; and
Spilhaus: five hundred years of history (1450-1950), the story of a German/South African family.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 15, 2018
where The attempt is to gain more of an understanding of her work and allowing the reader into her personal life, past and present.
What you appreciate is Constance’s appreciation of her truthfulness in her photographs and how she respects her subjects and her mediums throughout her years of photography. Constance saw her success in having a natural gift in seeing things with an eye.
Peter Elliot’s attempts in gathering all the necessary information in order to deliver an exemplary composition of this photographer’s life. The work has an embodied message which is to live life to the fullest and focus on positive things. Becoming who you are and trying best to make a difference were all the positive messages this book bore.
I was expecting a little more photographs from the author in the book. The biography was excellently put together. It was organized and covered most aspect of Constance’s life. The literature was easy to read and to understand. I would recommend this book to people that like to read life stories that inspire and lead you to be a better person.
The understanding after reading this book is that the perspective of how one sees life has an extraordinary effect on a person’s way of living and that view directly influences whom they become eventually.
What you appreciate is Constance’s appreciation of her truthfulness in her photographs and how she respects her subjects and her mediums throughout her years of photography. Constance saw her success in having a natural gift in seeing things with an eye.
Peter Elliot’s attempts in gathering all the necessary information in order to deliver an exemplary composition of this photographer’s life. The work has an embodied message which is to live life to the fullest and focus on positive things. Becoming who you are and trying best to make a difference were all the positive messages this book bore.
I was expecting a little more photographs from the author in the book. The biography was excellently put together. It was organized and covered most aspect of Constance’s life. The literature was easy to read and to understand. I would recommend this book to people that like to read life stories that inspire and lead you to be a better person.
The understanding after reading this book is that the perspective of how one sees life has an extraordinary effect on a person’s way of living and that view directly influences whom they become eventually.
June 2, 2019
I liked how Constance appears to capture different classes of people in the photos that she took, and also seemed to capture a more simple life in some areas. In the one photograph of the white woman with kids, I still saw a certain dignity and a small bit of pride - one thing I haven't really heard a lot of before is the subject of 'Poor Whites'; this is something that isn't mentioned a lot - and is something that I thought was a thought-provoking topic; especially considering that this is something that still took place even during the apartheid era. I got a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews