Paul Strand biography

[J.L. Kennedy]

I just saw "Three Roads Taken: The Photographs of Paul Strand" at The J. Paul Getty Museum and was interested in learning more about him. Can anyone recommend a biography or other source of biographical information?

[Robert Ley]

Try Google. I entered Paul Strand and got 1,350,000 hits. The first ten were a wealth of information on Strand.

[Brian Ellis]

Not exactly a biography but I have a book titled "Paul Strand Essays on His Life and Work" edited by Maren Stange that consists of about twenty essays by various authors including Robert Adams and Reynolds Price, ISBN 0-89381-441-5. Also a 90 minute or so videotape titled "Strand: Under the Dark Cloth" that I believe I purchased from Photo Eye. I showed it to my Beginning Photography class the one year I taught that course and they voted it the single most boring video seen by them in any course that year.

[Sal Santamaura]

I visited the Strand exhibit at the Getty a few days ago. Most prints were framed, but a few were displayed as unframed groups approximately 15 cm behind a large pane of glass.

The Getty suffers from "conservator's malady" just like The Huntington and, I presume, many other contemporary museums. That is, most prints were behind uncoated glazing and illuminated so minimally that they were difficult to see through one's own reflection. The only exception to this glare was the unframed groups, since they were lit from above within the 15 cm-deep "well" and those lamps did not illuminate the viewer. If curators can't bring the light level up, they should at least use anti-reflection coated glazing, which is available now even in acrylic form, in the frames.

[Bill_1856]

"Paul Strand, 60 years of Photographs," seems to be back in print. It has a good, although not detailed, biography of Strand. And excellent reproductions of much of his best work.

[paulr]

another vote for "Paul Strand Essays on His Life and Work." not sure if it's in print, but used copies should be easy to come by online.

[Mark Sawyer]

And yet another vote for "Paul Strand Essays on His Life and Work.

My favorite Strand book, (though it has nothing in the way of a biography on Strand,) is "Time in New England," with Nancy Newhall. A collection of historic New England writings mixed in with Stand's New England images, which I always felt were his strongest and most heart-felt.

[JET]

I am doing a photography course for my A level and my favourite artist/photographer is Paul strand, if any one knows where i can get a good book of his best works and information on them e.g how he developed them and the ideas behind them please let me know!

[Bill_1856]

Jet, "Paul Strand, c.1916" has his very best work, and some details about how he worked. Although his career spanned some 60 years, only the very early work was revolutionary, and it is covered here. I don't believe that there's ever been a real biography of Strand, and pieces of his life must be picked up in drabs and pieces from the available material.

[jtf]

Paul Strand Essays on His Life and Work is currently in print.