Photography at MoMA: 1920 - 1960

Photography from its early days to its peak. A must buy

The second in the MoMA photo series, "Photography at MoMA: 1920 to 1960", really details the foundation of today's photography. This was the period of historically great photographers and their pictures--Cartier-Bresson, Kertesz, Evans, Frank, et al. This was the time photography gained in importance in the mass media and was growing as an accepted art form. After 1960, photography took on the dual personas of "just another part of our lives" and "art and culture". This book follows these developments brilliantly and affords us a chronology that is both coherent and unassuming. In my review of the "...1960 to Now" book, I noted that photography seems to have most recently become lost in the wilderness of technology during the late "Now" period. Never so well is this made apparent as when compared to the purity of the form shown in the "...1920 to 1960" and the first section of the "...1960 to Now" volumes. Compared to the best works of the past masters, today's post modern photography seems superficial and synthetic. Perhaps it's time for today's photographers to reassess their focus and study the clarity of purpose presented by these past masters. For today's new photographers, the book "...1920 to 1960" is a volume to be read, studied and read again as a distillation of photographic wisdom on which to find one's own path. The "...1960 to Now" is also recommended for study of the progression of the art form.

Amazing book for photography lovers. Must have!

Big book, lots of photos, most well known. In other words it is a collection one would expect from MoMA. Prinitng is quite good and will be getting remaining books in the series.

Book begins with a Table of Contents that divides contents into 8 broad "Subject" categories, followed by alphabetical listings of the photographers representing each category. Each chapter also has an Intro page where it repeats the alpha listing of the photographers' names, although oddly, pictures are displayed randomly and not in alpha order. The book also has an Index of photographers with the page locations of their photos. It goes without saying that the pics are in high quality B&W. , The artists that represent each category are listed alphabetically both in an introductory Table of Contents as well as in the individual chapters.

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