Eastman House Monograph

[Siskind, Aaron] (1903–1991) ; [Photographer]

Aaron Siskind: photographer [George Eastman House Monograph No. 5] [1965]

New York: George Eastman House, Distributed by Horizon Press. 1965.

The definitive mid-career monograph of Aaron Siskind, documenting his transition into the vanguard of American abstract photography. 

Published as the fifth volume in the prestigious George Eastman House series, this work features essential critical essays by Henry Holmes Smith and Thomas B. Hess, alongside Siskind’s own reflections on the medium. A primary source for the study of the 'New York School,' capturing the formalist rigor that redefined the photograph as an autonomous art object.

KEY FEATURES
+++ Visuals: Extensive black-and-white photographic illustrations printed on heavy coated stock. +++ Binding: Publisher's red cloth, lettered in black to the spine and front board. +++ Content: Edited with an introduction by Nathan Lyons; features the seminal essay 'The Essential Siskind.'
+++ Imprint: George Eastman House / Horizon Press, 1965. Monograph No. 5.
+++ Specs: 10 inches tall; 74 pages.

CONDITION: Near Fine / Very Good. 
+++ The Book: Near fine. Red cloth is bright and clean; black lettering is sharp. Internal pages are crisp with no ownership marks or foxing. Bindings are tight and square. 
+++ The Jacket: Very Good. Original unclipped dust jacket. Free of chips or tears. Shows light shelf "scuffing" to the rear panel, typical for this high-gloss black jacket.

SCHOLARLY FEATURES
+++ Critical Context: Features the tripartite perspective of a curator (Lyons), a critic (Hess), and a fellow educator (Smith), providing the most comprehensive theoretical framework for Siskind's work published during his lifetime.
+++ Series Pedigree: A cornerstone of the George Eastman House Monograph series, which defined the canon of 20th-century photography.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — 
This 1965 monograph served as the formal 'canonization; of Siskind within the institutional museum world. By the mid-60s, Siskind’s move away from the social realism of the Photo League toward 'found' abstraction was complete; this volume solidified that shift. It remains an essential reference for understanding the intellectual link between the camera and the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 50s.

SUBJECTS: Aaron Siskind, Nathan Lyons, George Eastman House, Abstract Expressionism, New York School, Horizon Press, Photography Monograph, Museum Publication.

Item #21714

Price: $45.00