Product Description

Women have made vital contributions to photography both as a profession and as an art form from the very beginning. In every aspect of the medium--portraiture, social and scientific documentation, advertising, photojournalism, personal expression--women have been highly visible creators. Yet their achievements have often been overlooked.

In A History of Women Photographers, Dr. Naomi Rosenblum--author of the standard reference A World History of Photography--documents the work of women photographers from Julia Margaret Cameron to Margaret Bourke-White, Tina Modotii, and Cindy Sherman. Her ground-breaking work provides an invitingly readable chronicle both of the women's creativity and of the challenging contexts within which they worked. Complementing the illuminating text and remarkable photographs are densely detailed biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography, all of which have made A History of Women Photographers an invaluable resource. For this new edition, eighteen images have been added, and the final three chapters, biographies, and bibliography have been updated and expanded.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #540334 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this landmark volume, Rosenblum (A World History of Photography) examines sympathetically the achievements of women in photography since its invention in 1839, and highlights society's failure to give them appropriate recognition. One research obstacle the author encountered was the 19th-century practice of men taking credit for work done by women. Here is work from 250 female camera artists, from Julia Margaret Cameron (b. 1815) to Annie Leibovitz (b. 1949), who, despite strong cultural resistance, mastered everything from early wet-plate views and portraits to 35 millimeter photojournalism, often initiating aesthetic and commercial improvements. Her chronicle of women's part in each era's artistic movements and media transitions, plus capsule biographies with an in-depth bibliography and index, make this a seminal reference work. The author's choice of 263 photographs seems to favor the esoteric, bringing to light a largely unknown world in vivid originality and broad archival conception.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Here is yet another publication that strives to rescue from oblivion the neglected achievements of women in the visual arts. Juxtaposing the past 155 years of photographic history with events from women's social history, Rosenblum (A World History of Photography, LJ 2/1/85) documents women's contributions to the technological, artistic, and experimental development of photography. Her feminist narrative explores women's creativity both as a means of self-expression and as a lucrative profession. The 36 color plates, along with over 200 black-and-white illustrations, include fine examples of portraiture, advertising, and photojournalism. The last section contains valuable thumbnail biographies of approximately 240 female photographers-from the obscure to the famous-whose illustrations appear in the text. An ambitious bibliography makes this a prime tool and stimulus for researchers. Highly recommended for photography, women's studies, and young adult collections.
Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by PH
Women have been creating photographic images since the medium was introduced in 1839. Yet, as is all too often the case, we still are "under:" "under-funded, under-exhibited, under-studied, under-represented." Focusing on the work of 240 photographers from the Americas and Europe, A History of Women Photographers reclaims women's contributions to this art form, exploring topics such as how photography responds to society's needs for different kinds of images at different times; the connection between what women created and the underlying economic and cultural conditions; and how photography enhanced individual women's lives. The book's highlight is, of course, the black and white reproductions of many of these exquisite works. Don't just leave it on the coffee table; read it and celebrate the women represented.

Customer Reviews

Important and beautiful
This book deserves all of the praise it has earned. Dr. Rosenblum is passionately involved in the art and craft of photography. She has a world view that she puts to great use here. One of the best and most respectful things about this survey, aside from its obvious profusion of well-chosen photographs and the assured and authoritative commentary, is the effectiveness of Dr. Rosenblum's knowing method of assemblage. In the arrangement of these photographs there is ample room for readerly associations, emotions, and thought. The commentary, both in form and content, reinforces this. We are in the hands of a gifted teacher, in fact. Whether it is a series of photos of human hands, folds of clothing, leaves, children's faces, natural forms - the reader is taken on a deeply affecting, associative journey, and the results run deep. This is in addition to this book's obvious workhorse usefulness as a terrific reference work.

One hundred pages at the book's end are devoted to notes, careful and thorough biographies of the photographers, a selected bibliography, and an index. The production values are first-rate. A wonderful book.