Christian A. Peterson
Pictorial Photographs from the Two Red Roses Foundation
Palm Harbor, Florida: Two Red Roses Foundation, 2017
Hardcover (bronze-stamped black cloth), 12 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, full-color halftones, 288 pages.
$75
This impressive new book features Peterson’s essay, “Lenses Embracing the Beautiful: Two Generations of Pictorial Photographs, 1890s-1940s,” which analyzes the aesthetics of pictorial photography and discusses the camera clubs, exhibitions, and publications that were essential to the success of the movement. A large portion of the book is given over to a catalog of the collection, with work by more than 40 photographers, each with high-quality illustrations, a biography, and commentary on some of their pictures. Among those heavily represented are Alvin Langdon Coburn, Heinrich Kühn, Léonard Misonne, and Edward Steichen. The final section features images from and commentary on about 20 vintage photo books by the likes of Adolf Fassbender, Adelaide Hanscom, and William Mortensen.