Walker Evans - American Photographs - 1975

The 1975 East River Press edition of American Photographs by Walker Evans is a highly regarded, softcover facsimile reprint of the landmark 1938 photography book originally published by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Released in the same year as Walker Evans's death, this edition replicated the layout of the original volume, which is widely considered one of the most influential photobooks of the 20th century.

True to the original layout curated carefully by Evans himself, the book is split into two distinct thematic sequences:
• Part One: Focuses primarily on the human element of 1930s America, featuring candid portraits, individuals in their social environments, and the direct face of Depression-era society.
• Part Two: Transitions to American cultural artifacts and the built environment. This section highlights landscapes, vernacular architecture, Main Street storefronts, factory towns, rural wooden churches, and signs.

It features the famous original concluding essay, "Photographs of America: Walker Evans" by cultural critic and writer Lincoln Kirstein, which contextualizes Evans's poetic yet direct visual style.

The images inside were largely taken during Evans's work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in the early-to-mid 1930s. His style—often described as "lyrical documentary"—pioneered a raw, straightforward, and unvarnished aesthetic that captured the quiet dignity and severe hardships of the Great Depression. The 1975 East River Press version served as a crucial intervention at a time when the original 1938 MoMA catalog had become incredibly rare and expensive, providing students and photography enthusiasts affordable access to Evans's precise cropping and iconic sequencing.

Copy in very good condition.