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American Witness: The Art and Life of Robert Frank
From the author of the acclaimed James Brown biography The One comes the first in-depth biography of renowned photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank, best known for his landmark book The Americans.
As well-known as Robert Frank the photographer is, few can say they really know Robert Frank the man. Born and raised in wartime Switzerland, Frank discovered the power and allure of photography at an early age and quickly learned that the art meant significantly more to him than the money, success, or fame. The art was all, and he intended to spend a lifetime pursuing it.
American Witness is the first comprehensive look at the life of a man who's as mysterious and evasive as he is prolific and gifted. Leaving his rigid Switzerland for the more fluid United States in 1947, Frank found himself at the red-hot social center of bohemian New York in the '50s and '60s, becoming friends with everyone from Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Peter Orlovsky to photographer Walker Evans, actor Zero Mostel, painter Willem de Kooning, filmmaker Jonas Mekas, Bob Dylan, writer Rudy Wirlitzer, jazz musicians Ornette Coleman and Charles Mingus, and more. Frank roamed the country with his young family, taking roughly 27,000 photographs and collecting 83 of them into what is still his most famous work: The Americans. His was an America nobody had seen before, and if it was harshly criticized upon publication for its portrait of a divided country, the collection gradually grew to be recognized as a transformative American vision.
And then he turned his back on certain success, giving up photography to reinvent himself as a film and video maker. Frank helped found the American independent cinema of the 1960s and made a legendary film with the Rolling Stones. Today, the nonagenarian is an embodiment of restless creativity and a symbol of what it costs to remain original in America, his life defined by never repeating himself, never being satisfied. American Witness is a portrait of a singular artist and the country that he saw.
As well-known as Robert Frank the photographer is, few can say they really know Robert Frank the man. Born and raised in wartime Switzerland, Frank discovered the power and allure of photography at an early age and quickly learned that the art meant significantly more to him than the money, success, or fame. The art was all, and he intended to spend a lifetime pursuing it.
American Witness is the first comprehensive look at the life of a man who's as mysterious and evasive as he is prolific and gifted. Leaving his rigid Switzerland for the more fluid United States in 1947, Frank found himself at the red-hot social center of bohemian New York in the '50s and '60s, becoming friends with everyone from Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Peter Orlovsky to photographer Walker Evans, actor Zero Mostel, painter Willem de Kooning, filmmaker Jonas Mekas, Bob Dylan, writer Rudy Wirlitzer, jazz musicians Ornette Coleman and Charles Mingus, and more. Frank roamed the country with his young family, taking roughly 27,000 photographs and collecting 83 of them into what is still his most famous work: The Americans. His was an America nobody had seen before, and if it was harshly criticized upon publication for its portrait of a divided country, the collection gradually grew to be recognized as a transformative American vision.
And then he turned his back on certain success, giving up photography to reinvent himself as a film and video maker. Frank helped found the American independent cinema of the 1960s and made a legendary film with the Rolling Stones. Today, the nonagenarian is an embodiment of restless creativity and a symbol of what it costs to remain original in America, his life defined by never repeating himself, never being satisfied. American Witness is a portrait of a singular artist and the country that he saw.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published November 7, 2017
22 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
R.J. Smith
25 books20 followersR. J. Smith has been a senior editor at Los Angeles magazine, a contributor to Blender, a columnist for The Village Voice, a staff writer for Spin, and has written for GQ, The New York Times Magazine, and Men’s Vogue. His first book, The Great Black Way, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and recipient of a California Book Award. He lives in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 29, 2018
Worth reading for anyone interested in Frank's life and work. I was good friends in high school with both of his children, Pablo and Andrea, and was roommates with Pablo after we both graduated. I met Robert on a number of occasions, including during one of the infamous Rolling Stones episodes the author describes. A lot of tragedy in his life and in this book that both overwhelms and yet also helps to explain many of his artistic accomplishments.
February 12, 2018
https://msarki.tumblr.com/post/170792...
…In America people go forward and that’s not a gentle sport…
Captivating story behind the work and life of Robert Frank. The period beginning with The Beats was especially interesting and from that point on the book became an addictive read. The last third of this book was not only mesmerizing, but instructive in the ways of producing independent and original art. Robert Frank was a fiercely private man, and though eventually well-paid, never driven by the allure of obtaining things nor money. Very much an enjoyable read.
…In America people go forward and that’s not a gentle sport…
Captivating story behind the work and life of Robert Frank. The period beginning with The Beats was especially interesting and from that point on the book became an addictive read. The last third of this book was not only mesmerizing, but instructive in the ways of producing independent and original art. Robert Frank was a fiercely private man, and though eventually well-paid, never driven by the allure of obtaining things nor money. Very much an enjoyable read.
April 11, 2021
One of the best biographies I've ever read! When I first found out that Frank wasn't involved at all I was hesitant, but in a way it made it even better. It forced Smith to craft a narrative and spend more time on the context of the era, the people, the art movements that were happening and the political atmosphere of the country. It wasn't just a snapshot of Frank's extraordinary life but also a snapshot of different eras.
As for Frank's life, it captures the highs and the lows, the beauty and tragedies. As someone who doesn't consider themselves as on the traditional "track," it was inspiring for me to read about someone who so brazenly disparaged society's shoulds and benchmarks. He embraced failure as a central tenet of growth, and reading this book made me want to do the same.
American Witness made my passing interest in photography into a hobby (got myself a film camera last week!) and my respect for Robert Frank into him becoming a role model. What a book!
As for Frank's life, it captures the highs and the lows, the beauty and tragedies. As someone who doesn't consider themselves as on the traditional "track," it was inspiring for me to read about someone who so brazenly disparaged society's shoulds and benchmarks. He embraced failure as a central tenet of growth, and reading this book made me want to do the same.
American Witness made my passing interest in photography into a hobby (got myself a film camera last week!) and my respect for Robert Frank into him becoming a role model. What a book!
August 15, 2018
(I'll try to expand this review later on; I read the book in hardback.) This book is interesting and informative, yet it is somewhat disappointing. The author hasn't been able to speak with Robert Frank and is essentially in the same position as someone writing about a dead artist.
There is interesting background on various periods of time when Frank lived, but the writing has a somewhat journalistic feel to it, with modern (sometimes anachronistic) references that are meant to help the reader get things, but one wishes there were more texture and less circumstantial evidence in the book. At the same time, the book seems to be well researched beyond the obvious lack of direct interviews with Frank. The absence of a proper bibliography is a pity---notes at the end of the book gather the many, often useful references, with the reader expected to rummage around if trying to locate a specific reference afterwards.
What I missed most in the end was that I could not feel a strong bond between "the art" and "the life" of Frank, as I had hoped to find. Of course the author does connect the two, but my point is that the perception of what makes Frank's art interesting feels a bit limited. Just looking at Frank's pictures, the way he composes some of his images for instance, one can learn a lot about the way he must have approached the world when shooting for The Americans. But I did not feel that such deep and important matters found their counterparts, or some sense of an explanation, in the book---nothing at any rate that would approach the masterpiece of an introduction that Leo Rubifien wrote a few years ago to the book Garry Winogrand. Still, a number of contextual details made this biography an interesting read.
There is interesting background on various periods of time when Frank lived, but the writing has a somewhat journalistic feel to it, with modern (sometimes anachronistic) references that are meant to help the reader get things, but one wishes there were more texture and less circumstantial evidence in the book. At the same time, the book seems to be well researched beyond the obvious lack of direct interviews with Frank. The absence of a proper bibliography is a pity---notes at the end of the book gather the many, often useful references, with the reader expected to rummage around if trying to locate a specific reference afterwards.
What I missed most in the end was that I could not feel a strong bond between "the art" and "the life" of Frank, as I had hoped to find. Of course the author does connect the two, but my point is that the perception of what makes Frank's art interesting feels a bit limited. Just looking at Frank's pictures, the way he composes some of his images for instance, one can learn a lot about the way he must have approached the world when shooting for The Americans. But I did not feel that such deep and important matters found their counterparts, or some sense of an explanation, in the book---nothing at any rate that would approach the masterpiece of an introduction that Leo Rubifien wrote a few years ago to the book Garry Winogrand. Still, a number of contextual details made this biography an interesting read.
November 30, 2017
This biography of Robert Frank is an in-depth look at a man and how he became a world renown photographer and videographer. From his early beginnings as the son of a strict and rather cold father, Frank apprenticed himself as an unpaid helper to professional photographers during wartime Switzerland. Besides learning all the technicalities of photography, he experimented with his own creative and independent ideas until his work was viewed as transformative.
November 29, 2017
I'd give this between 3 and 4 stars if I could. Some of the writing is less than fluid but I enjoyed reading about the various cultural figures who intersected with Frank ranging from Jack Smith to Jonas Mekas to Allen Ginsburg.
December 29, 2018
Although I am a huge fan of Frank's work, I found this biography utterly unenjoyable. Robert Frank was not a cooperating subject, and most of this content can be found in reading other sources on Frank. (The author also conducted plenty of interviews, however.)
December 15, 2017
Thorough yet concise. Conveys a strong appreciation of Frank's work without being too esoteric.
March 4, 2018
the ultimate nonconformist-non-materialist--rings true in my book
March 15, 2020
Inspirational! -- Note: I read the hardcover publication of this book.
April 6, 2020
Fascinating character and a wonderful look at the state of photography through the decades, but not especially well-written.
March 5, 2018
Curious to read this biography of Robert Frank after seeing Laura Israel's film, Don't Blink, Robert Frank. Israel worked closely with Frank on many of his movies.
This is a fascinating biography of Robert Frank told in the context of his life and friends. (Frank was not involved in the writing of this book.) It is full of stories and background information which can only have been gleaned from talking with many people who knew/know Frank. It does not separate Frank's life into categories, which he himself did not do, it is all one.
Throughout the book, as Frank became more well known, there is more adulation, and it culminates at the end. (Although the author's own adulation was clear in his introduction, and almost turned me off to reading the book.) This part is not interesting to me, although I understand it. The "fandom" of any individual seems a bit creepy. However, there is huge respect for Frank in this book, and honesty. Some of the stories drift into gossip, but there are also critical points about Frank's practice and the impact it makes on himself and the world at large.
It culminates in the Steidl exhibition which recently closed at Blue Sky Gallery, Robert Frank, Books and Films 1947-2018. This exhibition opened my eyes to the way Frank works, which is that everything he does is part of a continuum of work and life.
This is a fascinating biography of Robert Frank told in the context of his life and friends. (Frank was not involved in the writing of this book.) It is full of stories and background information which can only have been gleaned from talking with many people who knew/know Frank. It does not separate Frank's life into categories, which he himself did not do, it is all one.
Throughout the book, as Frank became more well known, there is more adulation, and it culminates at the end. (Although the author's own adulation was clear in his introduction, and almost turned me off to reading the book.) This part is not interesting to me, although I understand it. The "fandom" of any individual seems a bit creepy. However, there is huge respect for Frank in this book, and honesty. Some of the stories drift into gossip, but there are also critical points about Frank's practice and the impact it makes on himself and the world at large.
It culminates in the Steidl exhibition which recently closed at Blue Sky Gallery, Robert Frank, Books and Films 1947-2018. This exhibition opened my eyes to the way Frank works, which is that everything he does is part of a continuum of work and life.
April 25, 2023
Lost interest half way in
Want to read
January 18, 2018American Witness
The Art and Life of Robert Frank interested me before I even started reading only because of James Franco’s portrayal of Franco on GH back back a few years. I looked up the term “Bobby Frank and ran into Robert Frank, artist and videographer, the same man whom had done the beautiful and truthful photos of everyday life and compiled it into the book The Americans.
Author R.J. Smith does a fine job of sharing the elusivity of Robert Frank and makes you feel his boldness when getting the shots he wants of what captures his artistic eye. A boldness that I admire, I myself being that secretily bold yet trying to be unobtrusive.
Frank used his camera for truth and weilded it as a if it was a weapon for “standing up for one’s [him] self and what he believed.
I could feel the tension when Mr. Smith would write about Frank’s father. He wasn’t how Robert wanted to be, obstinate and selfpossed without fitting in, and yet in a way Robert did become that in the same mold but differently because he didn’t like the limelight. You could lose him as a friend if you talked about him to the press. His privacy was important. I don’t blame him.
I was intrigued by that privacy and still he was a great friend, caring. I don’t think others imagine how someone could be famous and still want to be private . This book describes that character trait perfectly.
Frank’s talent was unobtainable by the average person, he saw things that most people miss. Reminds me of the photographer, Dorothea Lang and her eye for the human plight.
A few things that surprised me- Frank working for The Marx’s Brothers as his first job in his new country. I feel that the various jobs that Robert Frank held could only happen by someone who had drive but also that opportunities seemed given by drive not by a degree. It’s the American Dream to get the jobs you want. Too bad it takes either someone you know or a degree to get it now, not just as Frank did, walk in, prove your worth and wow the boss with your product. Even in the book it showed that changing as bosses started training their soon to be employees by being teaches at the local colleges. I see it like having an apprenticeship and paying the boss for it. Such a novelty idea back then. Now it’s a given. Still it has hand to mouth when the jobs were far and few between assignments.
Another thing that surprised me was the inclusion of other photographers to the book, usually you get people to talk in a biography about your primary subject. Mr. Smith included Frank’s fellow photographers as their own subject and intertwining with Frank. I found that refreshing and informative of the years that Frank was working in. Like an open journal of the talent of any given year.
I enjoyed this book. I liked the writing of RJ Smith and will likely read more of his work.
The Art and Life of Robert Frank interested me before I even started reading only because of James Franco’s portrayal of Franco on GH back back a few years. I looked up the term “Bobby Frank and ran into Robert Frank, artist and videographer, the same man whom had done the beautiful and truthful photos of everyday life and compiled it into the book The Americans.
Author R.J. Smith does a fine job of sharing the elusivity of Robert Frank and makes you feel his boldness when getting the shots he wants of what captures his artistic eye. A boldness that I admire, I myself being that secretily bold yet trying to be unobtrusive.
Frank used his camera for truth and weilded it as a if it was a weapon for “standing up for one’s [him] self and what he believed.
I could feel the tension when Mr. Smith would write about Frank’s father. He wasn’t how Robert wanted to be, obstinate and selfpossed without fitting in, and yet in a way Robert did become that in the same mold but differently because he didn’t like the limelight. You could lose him as a friend if you talked about him to the press. His privacy was important. I don’t blame him.
I was intrigued by that privacy and still he was a great friend, caring. I don’t think others imagine how someone could be famous and still want to be private . This book describes that character trait perfectly.
Frank’s talent was unobtainable by the average person, he saw things that most people miss. Reminds me of the photographer, Dorothea Lang and her eye for the human plight.
A few things that surprised me- Frank working for The Marx’s Brothers as his first job in his new country. I feel that the various jobs that Robert Frank held could only happen by someone who had drive but also that opportunities seemed given by drive not by a degree. It’s the American Dream to get the jobs you want. Too bad it takes either someone you know or a degree to get it now, not just as Frank did, walk in, prove your worth and wow the boss with your product. Even in the book it showed that changing as bosses started training their soon to be employees by being teaches at the local colleges. I see it like having an apprenticeship and paying the boss for it. Such a novelty idea back then. Now it’s a given. Still it has hand to mouth when the jobs were far and few between assignments.
Another thing that surprised me was the inclusion of other photographers to the book, usually you get people to talk in a biography about your primary subject. Mr. Smith included Frank’s fellow photographers as their own subject and intertwining with Frank. I found that refreshing and informative of the years that Frank was working in. Like an open journal of the talent of any given year.
I enjoyed this book. I liked the writing of RJ Smith and will likely read more of his work.
Want to read
September 21, 201911/12/17 Found it in the NYTs book review Q&A interview with the author: Tell Us 5 Things About Your Book: Capturing the Elusive Robert Frank https://nyti.ms/2jnBLiv
9/21/19 was reminded of this book because Robert Frank died this week. There is a biographical film on Amazon to check out too. He's yet another artist like Philip Glass who summers in Nova Scotia.
9/21/19 was reminded of this book because Robert Frank died this week. There is a biographical film on Amazon to check out too. He's yet another artist like Philip Glass who summers in Nova Scotia.
November 22, 2017
The first biography of Robert Frank. His book of photographs ( The Americans) taken in the 1950's is considered by many to be the most important photography book of the 20th century.
Read
August 3, 2018This is a well researched, engagingly written biography of the photographer. At the same time, it is not a scholarly investigation of Frank's photographs and films, and while the author interviewed a good many people close to Frank, he was unable to get an interview with Frank himself. When it comes to books like this, my view is that we should be pleased about their strengths and hope that someone else will do what is not done here. Insofar as getting interviews with Robert Frank, however, it sounds like not many more of those are likely to happen and those that do may not reveal anything new.
I bought my copy of the book at an author talk in Cincinnati, so I can also say that the author does a good talk, which the audience enjoyed.
I bought my copy of the book at an author talk in Cincinnati, so I can also say that the author does a good talk, which the audience enjoyed.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews