Walker Evans at Work
photographs by Walker Evans
essay by Jerry L. Thompson
Harper & Row, 1982, 240 pages
ISBN 0-06-011104-6
This fascinating book examines the career of documentary photographer Walker Evans, from his earliest photos in the late 1920's to his Polaroid SX-70 instant color photos taken in the early 1970's (although reproduced only in black & white). Many of his most famous photographs are included, and there are also some page reproductions from magazines and books demonstrating how the photos were originally published.
The real value of this book, however, it that it includes his alternate takes and uncropped originals, allowing us to get a better understanding of how he worked.
For example, for a photo of a smartly dressed man in Havana from 1932, we see the three shots that Evans took of the scene, all uncropped, and then a fourth photo shows the enlargement and cropping of the shot that Evans selected for publication.
With 745 photographs, arranged chronologically, this book is a superb resource for anyone interested in the work of Walker Evans. An introductory essay covers Evans' equipment and procedures, but written material from Evans himself is found throughout the book: notes and lists, unpublished book introductions, and excerpts from letters, interviews, and lectures.
Recommended.