Lee Friedlander - Nudes - 1992

Copy in very good condition.

Nudes is a landmark 1991/1992 photography book by acclaimed American photographer Lee Friedlander, published in the UK by Jonathan Cape to coincide with a major exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The book fundamentally redefined the genre of the photographic nude by trading classical, idealized poses for raw, domestic realism.

Rather than shooting in a sterile studio, Friedlander photographed models directly in their own homes. He used mundane household objects—such as potted plants, bedside lamps, patterned wallpapers, and sofa fabrics—to frame and intersect with the angular geometry of the human form. The images intentionally reject derivative, painterly postures. Instead, Friedlander’s sharp focus and harsh flash highlight every unique contour and skin blemish, creating a stark contrast between carnal realism and cool artistic detachment.

The book includes Friedlander's famous 1979 nude portraits of a then-unknown Madonna (captured when she was working as a model in New York), which later became some of his most widely recognized and high-value prints. The standard Jonathan Cape edition spans 96 pages and contains 84 tritone illustrations measuring roughly 10.5 x 9.5 inches. It features an insightful afterword by influential editor and critic Ingrid Sischy.