Photographers of genius at the Getty /

Anything written by Naef about the history of photography is worth reading. His knowledge is encyclopedic, and his passion for his subject holds the reader's attention on page after page. For this work, Naef has written a series of brief essays about the "photographers of genius" whose work is included in the J. Paul Getty Museum's collection. Naef has been the curator of that collection since its inception in 1984. One would not think that there could be anything new to say about the photographs of Nadar, Strand, Weston, Stieglitz, et al., but Naef always manages to notice something that others have missed. Fenton's Eurocentric Fantasy of Life in the Orient is one example, and his discussion of the importance and aesthetics of the lowly cyanotype is an important contribution to our understanding of early photography. Brief essay by brief essay, Naef shows how the photographers in this book have been influenced by those who came before and have influenced those who followed. By the end of the book the parts add up to an impressive whole. One fault: one wishes that the Getty's collection were more inclusive. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through professionals. T. Sexton emeritus, University of Alaska, Anchorage

After collecting photographs for two decades, the J. Paul Getty Museum has assembled one of the finest collections in the world. Living up to its title, this catalog of a recent exhibition at the museum presents the work of 38 seminal photographers and beautifully reproduces images from its collection. Each of the selected artists was a pioneer in the field, and the photos and text both show the significant role he or she played in the medium's evolution. Naef, curator of photographs at the Getty Museum, has chosen to include many well-known artists, among them Julia Margaret Cameron, Eugene Atget, Alfred Stieglitz, August Sander, Andre Kertesz, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, but hasn't overlooked lesser-known figures like Anna Atkins and Camille Silvy. In addition to the numerous illustrations (60 color and 54 duotone), the book also features short historical essays that accompany three related images by each artist; this format gives it a cohesion not typically seen in an art-historical survey. Recommended for all collections.-Shauna Frischkorn, Millersville Univ., PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.