One: Sons & Daughters

by Edward Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith (Foreword), Samantha Boardman (Introduction)

A baby's first year is filled with an endless stream of new experiences, contributing profoundly to their physical, mental, and emotional development. Typically at the age of one-year an infant has the motor skills and ability to sit on their own for the first time and their uninhibited gaze provides a window into a distinct personality that will endure throughout their lifetime. It is these individual natures that photographer Edward Mapplethorpe expertly captures.

The culmination of a twenty-year project by one of today's top-commissioned and internationally-recognized photographers of baby portraits,  ONE  features a series of 60 photographs that catch the fleeting, yet universal, moment of life when a child reaches one year of age. There is something remarkable in the innocent faces of the children portrayed in this book that serves to underscore our common humanity.

The luxuriously printed duotone photographs in  ONE  are accompanied by essays from esteemed contemporary authors Adam Gopnik, Susan Orlean, Francine Prose, and Andrew Solomon. Patti Smith contributes an original poem while Dr. Samantha Boardman writes the introduction. Contributions from such diverse luminaries emphasize the widespread appeal such innocent, unguarded beauty has for so many people.

140 pages, Hardcover

First published April 26, 2016

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pictures taken of babies as they turn one year old. Amazing how you can see personalities already emerging: some babies are smiling, some are crying, some almost seem aware of the charisma they have, some are very shy, some seem confused, some seem agitated...this is an amazing book that captures the important first year of life.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's not much text here, but every picture tells it's own story. There are no names, just the birthdates and times. If you know anything about astrology, you can make your own speculations about the personalities of the people pictured. Beautiful book!

[Mills College Library]

Patti Smith