W Eugene Smith

by W. Eugene Smith, William S. Johnson (Commentaries by)

Presents thirty-six series of photographs that tell the stories of workers, soldiers, scientists, musicians, doctors, and the poor

Genres: Photography, Art, Art and Photography

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Phil Overeem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great aperture—just not enough photographs from “Nurse-Midwife.”

[CD · Rating 5 out of 5]

A photographer I must have rediscovered half a dozen times and with this book I'm sure he will not again escape my consciousness.

Iconic images abound from this photographer and the stories of them and Smith's work solidify his place in photographic art history.

edited 9-4-09

[Margot Note]

The Walk to Paradise Garden, 1946 = wonderful!

[Michael Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have owned this book, "Aperture Masters of Photography: W. Eugene Smith," for a long time. Once I fancied that I might be a photographer, a sort of 'Wiggy the Mediocre' (Apologies to Weegee the Magnificent). Alas, wearing multiple hats as a weekly news editor didn't allow me time or resources to hone my skills in any one area. Nevertheless, photography retains its hold on me. This photographer and his works are a big reason why.

W. Eugene Smith is perhaps the father of the photographic essay, and a perfectionist in his art. His career was fortunate in coinciding with the rise of the magazine as a medium for stories and imagery. His talents matched the needs of Collier's, Parade, Life, Look, Time and many others.

Smith also experienced and explored the horrors of war, even as the United States sought his talents for newsgathering and propaganda purposes. He was no sideline photographer, and took a post as a war correspondent flying off of aircraft carriers in the Pacific. After 16 combat missions, he joined US forces in the island hopping campaign, photographing the invasions of Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was severely injured from a mortar explosion in Okinawa, requiring multiple surgeries and a lengthy recovery.

He became more inwardly focused over the years, spending a great deal of time shooting from a New York loft and then inside the dilapidated apartment, exploring the life without and the lives within. His love for photojournalism never waned, however, and he traveled to Japan to the fishing village of Minamata. There he recorded the horrors of industrial poisoning, including the dumping of mercury into the waters fished by the villagers. He would be attacked and beaten by company thugs in what would be his last photo essay.

Smith's works are often beautiful, sometimes haunting, but always meticulously done. His perfectionism occasionally pushed him towards photographic manipulation (darkroom work, in particular) a little too strongly for mere journalism, but perhaps in pursuit of deeper truths.

[Aruna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book features several of Smith’s most important photo essays, each one capturing real lives with honesty, empathy, and visual strength.

Highlighted projects include:

Country Doctor (1948): A deeply personal look into the life of a rural physician.
Spanish Village (1950): A raw and honest portrayal of daily life in post-war Spain.
Minamata (1972): Perhaps his most powerful work, this series exposed the effects of mercury poisoning in a Japanese village and became a landmark in documentary photography.

To me, Minamata stands out the most. The photograph Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath is both haunting and tender—a respectful yet devastating image that’s now iconic in the history of photojournalism.

Some personal favorites from the book:

Wounded (1944): A dramatic and emotional war photograph.
Welsh Miners (1950): Gritty silhouettes showing the toll of labor.
Newborn Baby in Makeshift Crib Near Cold Stove (1951): A powerful image of postwar poverty and survival.
Dress Shop at Night (1955–56): Quiet, moody, and almost cinematic.
The Wake (1951): A moving portrait of grief and community.
Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath (1972): Arguably the emotional centerpiece of the book—and of Smith’s entire body of work.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and bracing photography that, in its rootedness, speaks volumes. I'm grateful for the bits included from written essays by Smith, as well as the broad selection covering not only his war photography, but a variety of other subjects as well. I'm especially fond of his photographs of Nurse Callen and her world, as well as the famous "Return to Paradise Garden."

[Ian Beltran-Caballero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely stunning images from cover to cover. The series from Pittsburgh was my favorite inclusion

[Barry Stoch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book quickly shot to the top of my favourite photography books.

Wonderfully presented examples of his photojournalism projects. I went through The Country Doctor images over and over, they were so powerful.

This book really helps present W Eugene Smith as the amazing artist that he was through multiple images of his projects.

However, to me, it was the short accompanying write ups that gave some insight as to his accomplishments and what was the fuel of his all consuming passion for his photography that really made this book such a pleasure to read!

[Alfonso de Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smith es para mi uno de los fotógrafos mas importantes e interesantes de la fotografía moderna. Manteniendo una linea muy especial entre su fotografía humanista y la fotoperiodística. Fotográficamente hablando es el padre de muchos fotógrafos posteriores, incluso algunos cuya influencia no han querido confesar.
Esta sin ser la mejor es una aproximación muy asequible a su trabajo.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Includes selections from several of Smith's photo-essays, such as Country Doctor (1948), Spanish Village (1950), Nurse Midwife (1951), and A Man of Mercy, his 1954 photo-essay on Dr. Albert Schweitzer.