By Quentin Bajac. With contributions by Sarah Hermanson Meister

 

This richly illustrated book explores sixty remarkable photographs from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, all acquired with the support of Robert B. Menschel and meticulously selected for the book by Quentin Bajac, the former Chief Curator of Photography at MoMA. These works by a wide range of artists- from William Henry Fox Talbot, one of the medium's founders, to Andreas Gursky, one of its current leading figures—collectively tell the story of photography from its beginnings but upend and newly illuminate that story through their arrangement in reverse chronological order. Each image is the subject of a brief, elegant text. The book borrows its title from a work by Carrie Mae Weems, one of the many great photographs that Menschel has contributed to the collection. 152 pp.; 65 illus.