Product Description

Margaret Bourke-White (1904–1971) was one of the leading photojournalists of her time, a mainstay of the Luce empire whose signature work for Fortune celebrated the machine age and whose later work for Life featured the human face and a "progressive" humanitarian sensibility. Many of her photo essays are classics; indeed those on the Louisville Flood and its victims, on the liberation of the Nazi death camps, and on the poverty of India and Pakistan are now part of the iconography of the twentieth century.

In this brief collection of her earliest work, two art historians present the "unknown" Bourke-White, the young amateur aged eighteen to twenty-six. Her first photographs, created in 1921 under the tutelage of Columbia University's Clarence H. White, were impeccably designed soft-edged still lifes, "painterly" images characteristic of the period but not of the artist. Bourke-White took this technique to college – to the University of Michigan and to Cornell – and there made traditional portraits of campus buildings and, almost by accident, her first "industrial" photograph, a Duchamp-like study of loudspeakers. After graduation she moved to Cleveland, where, trembling with fear and aesthetic excitement, she photographed the interior of the Otis Steel Mill, the trestles of the High Level Bridge, and the new Terminal Tower. It was these thrilling Cleveland photographs, made in 1928–30, that won her an audience with Luce, who sent her on to Fortune . . . and to fame.

The eighty photographs reproduced here have seldom been seen outside the archives of Cornell's Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art and the University of Syracuse Library. They will fascinate anyone interested in the life and work of Margaret Bourke-White and the early history of American photojournalism.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #334006 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 89 pages

From the Back Cover
In looking at Bourke-White's photographs from her student days and following the scope of her career in photojournalism until her death, it is difficult to believe that all of this was the work a single person. There is a consistent strain throughout her career that can best be described as power. Each picture has this vusal stranth, whether a waterfall or the dramatic incandescent flow of molten steel in a darkened mill. Added to other aspects of her photographic art was her personal will. She established photojournalism standards that became a great gift to journalists of the twentieth century. All of this from Bourke-White, a tiny woman, but a giant among her fellow photojournalists. Her images burned into the memory of Americans for decades of life. This book reveals the foundation of her career. -- Robert J. Doherty, Former Director, George Eastman House

About the Author
Ronald E. Ostman is a professor in the Department of Communications at Cornell University.

Harry Littell is a photographer, an artist, and a teacher at Tompkins Cortland Community College, in Dryden, New York.

Customer Reviews

Early Margaret celebrated
Margaret Bourke-White was a leading photojournalist whose work for Fortune, among others, celebrated the machine age and whose later work for Life featured more of an interest in humanitarian concerns. MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE: THE EARLY WORK, 1992-1930 provides a new gathering with a focus on her earliest work, when she was an amateur. Her first photos were still lifes and images more characteristic of her times rather than her talents: one can see the transitions to her personal style in the photos made from 1928-30, and it's also notable that the some eighty photos reproduced here have seldom been seen outside their archives. A 'must' for any in-depth art library.

A great introduction into the early years or MBW
I borrowed this book from the library when I did a paper on Margaret. She was an amazing photographer and has an interesting history. I really did not know anything about her early years so I was super excited to see her photographs, learn about her life, and just feel the nicely printed pages of this book. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about her and her work.

Great photos, good quality, too small
I can't give it the 5 stars it deserves. The quality of the photo reproductions in this book are excellent, but they're so small you can't appreciate the images. The book is the size of a paper-back novel. In my opinion, photogravure books need to be bigger (i.e. coffee-table book size) to be able to enjoy the artwork. Text was interesting but far from a complete biography. I was left wanting more info. The publisher used thick, semi-gloss paper, and full-spectrum, high-def printing. Then the photos were made teeny-weeny. Why? 5 stars for the artwork and the quality of reproduction, though.