Outerbridge
Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, 1976. 1st Edition. Quarto, publisher's stiff photo-illustrated wraps over stapled textblock.
Limited edition catalog produced by Los Angeles Center for Photography (LACPS) for an exhibition of Paul Outerbridge’s work held at the G. Ray Hawkins Gallery from late 1976 to February 1977. Organized by Robert Glenn Ketchum, a pioneering conservation photographer credited for surfacing the Outerbridge estate, the show was the first significant presentation of his work since 1959. Outerbridge trained as a graphic designer, and produced commercial work for Vogue and Vanity Fair, before opening his own studio. He maintained a lifelong interest in formalism and abstraction, encouraged by friendships with Man Ray, Duchamp, Abbott and Steichen. A pioneer in color photography, he published an influential 1940 book on his techniques. His lush color nudes were deemed too racy; their failure to find an audience, coupled with cheap technological advances he refused to embrace, led to a decline in his output, though he continued to write a regular column for U.S. Camera magazine until his death in 1958. Includes a preface by Ketchum and an essay by photo-historian Graham Howe. Illustrated with 16 full-page, tissue-guarded plates and numerous reference images in black-and-white; with chronology and bibliography. Number 1658 of 3000 copies. Light spoiling to wraps. Near fine. Item #4987
$30.00