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Overview
George Platt Lynes was truly a photographer ahead of his time. His striking images, many of which celebrate the beauty of the human form, are startlingly modern when viewed from a late-twentieth-century vantage point. His influence on many of today's most heralded photographers is unequivocal and profound; his love for glamour, tireless interest in modern culture, and experimental nature infiltrated his photographs and shaped his very life. In the 1930s and 1940s, Lynes was widely known for his fashion photographs - luminous and elegant images that defined haute couture. He was also an accomplished dance photographer and portraitist, but his soul was in his fine art photography and, in particular, the resonant figure studies of male nudes - many with erotic overtones - deemed too scandalous for revelation during his lifetime. This landmark monograph brings to light a large body of Lynes's unpublished work and features eighty dramatic images representing all the genres he worked in. It gives particular attention to the male nudes that many feel to be Lynes's finest work. The photographs are drawn from an archive of six hundred prints collected by Lynes's friend and patron Alfred Kinsey, founder of the world-famous Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction which today houses his collection. Bruce Weber's intimate introduction and two insightful, provocative essays by James Crump provide a framework for viewing and interpreting Lynes's forceful images. This elegant book provides a new perspective on a fascinating man, his innovative work, and his timeless and integral contribution to photography.This landmark book presents for the first time the full range of images by photographer George Platt Lynes--including the male figure studies deemed too scandalous for exhibiton during his lifetime. 80 duotone illustrations.
Editorials
Library Journal
Lynes gained some fame in the Thirties as a surrealist-associated fashion and dance photograher and for a short time was chief photographer of the Vogue studios. He also produced a large number of nudes. Alfred Kinsey's purchases of hundreds of these negatives and prints supplied a large portion of Lynes's income in the early Fifties, when his commercial assignments dropped off and no market for male nudes existed. In two essays, Crump, curator of the Kinsey archives, does a fine job describing Lynes's professional and personal life and reevaluating the historical significance of Lynes's nudes, rightly claiming ``Mapplethorpe's vision owes a great deal more to Lynes than heretofore recognized.'' Unfortunately, close to half the 80 beautiful, full-page reproductions are of his less-important commercial work, and the majority of nudes are in the more sanitized ``sculptural'' style, leaving the reader wanting more material to evaluate Lynes's relation to today's homoerotic photographers. Recommended for large, modern-photography collections. --Eric Bryant, ``Library Journal''Booknews
Presents 80 photos selected from an archive of 600 prints collected by photographer Lynes's friend and patron Alfred Kinsey, founder of the Kinsey Institute of Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. The selection represents all the genres Lynes worked in, giving particular attention to the male nudes that many feel to be his finest work. An introduction (by Bruce Weber) and two essays (by James Crump) provide a framework for viewing and interpreting the photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)From Barnes & Noble
In the 1930s and 1940s, Lynes was a well-known fashion photographer, dance photographer, and portraitist, but his heart was in his art photos -- particularly the male nudes deemed too scandalous for publication in his lifetime. This collection assembles some of his best work. 9 1/2" x 11 1/2".Book Details
Published
December 9, 1993
Publisher
Boston : Little, Brown, c1993.
Pages
158
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780821219966