Anne Brigman: A Visionary in Modern Photography

Anne Brigman: A Visionary in Modern Photography by Ehrens, Susan. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780847862870.

A much-anticipated look at one of the first feminist artists, best known for her iconic landscape photographs made in the early 1900s depicting female nudes outdoors in rugged Northern California. This monumental publication rediscovers and celebrates the work of Anne Brigman, whose photography was considered radical for its time. For Brigman to objectify her own nude body as the subject of her photographs at the turn of the 20th century was groundbreaking; to do so outdoors in a near-desolate wilderness setting was revolutionary. Brigman’s significance spanned both coasts: in Northern California, where she lived, she was known as a poet, a critic, and a member of the Pictorialist photography movement. On the East Coast, her work was promoted by Alfred Stieglitz, who elected her as a fellow of the prestigious Photo-Secession. The book is devoted to Brigmans entire career, covering such topics as Brigmans work within the contexts of the California Arts & Crafts movement and New York Modernism; her relationship to High Sierra mountaineering and early 20th-century poetry; and the relevance of her work to contemporary conversations regarding gendered landscapes of the American frontier.