W. Eugene Smith and the Photographic Essay

This book provides the "first in-depth study of one of the most important photojournalists of the postwar period in America. . . . Willumson argues that Smith's photo-essays are significant cultural documents . . . [and that Smith had a] commitment to the photographic essay as a vehicle for social change." Willumson analyzes Smith's four best-known photo-essays for Life magazine: "County Doctor," "Spanish Village," "Nurse-Midwife," and "Man of Mercy." "An engaging account of Smith's career, W. Eugene Smith and the Photographic Essay reproduces the artist's work as it originally appeared in Life, making it accessible to a new generation."--the publisher.