Robert Frank: Portfolio

When Robert Frank immigrated to New York from Zurich in 1947, having apprenticed with commercial photographers in his hometown, the aspiring young photographer brought along his portfolio to help him secure employment. Portfolio is the facsimile version of this fascinating object. Containing Frank's earliest original photographs as well the work of other photographers which he had retouched, the portfolio presents images of rural life in Switzerland alongside alpine landscapes, cityscapes and still-lifes. A guaranteed collector's item, this slim, beautifully printed volume contains the seeds of a career of such scope and influence that even the ambitious 23-year-old Robert Frank could never have anticipated it.

About the Author

Robert Frank (1924–2019) is an acknowledged master of photography and the photobook. Born in Zurich, he immigrated to the United States in 1947. Frank is best known for his seminal book The Americans, first published in English in 1959, which gave rise to a distinctly new form of the photobook, and his experimental film Pull My Daisy of 1959. Frank’s other important projects include the books Black White and Things (1954), Lines of My Hand (1972), the film Cocksucker Blues for the Rolling Stones (1972), and his visual diaries (2010–17). Steidl has published over 30 of Frank’s books, including his last, Good Days Quiet (2019).