Understanding Photography

Ian Jeffrey is an English writer and art historian. He has written several books about photography, most notably the photography volume for Thames & Hudson's World of Art series and Phaidon's The Photography Book. Max Kozloff is former editor of Artforum, a leading photography critic, and the author of numerous books.

- Hands the reader the tools to decode key photographs by the greatest photographers - An overview of the history of photography by looking at one image at a time - An introduction to photography as an art form for both novices and scholars - Each entry includes a concise biography along with an illuminating discussion of the works and short contextual information Understanding photographs has never been easy. Many photographs - including some of the best known - were not taken with a clear idea in mind. And even if they were, the idea was soon overlooked or forgotten. In this profusely illustrated book, Ian Jeffrey hands us the tools to decode key photographs. By giving the reader the necessary biographical and historical information, the author helps us to fully understand photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, Cindy Sherman, Rinko Kawauchi, Nan Goldin, Thomas Ruff, Dorothea Lange, Bill Brandt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paul Strand, Diane Arbus, and L.szl. Moholy-Nagy, among others. At the same time, readers explore an overview of the history of photography by looking at one image at a time. Each entry includes a concise biography along with an illuminating discussion of the works and relevant contextual information.