Anne Brigman

Accompanying a major retrospective exhibition, this is the first comprehensive book to chronicle the photography of Anne W. Brigman (1869-1950), one of the most important of all American women photographers. Brigman is best known for her works taken between 1900 and 1920, depicting female nudes dramatically situated in natural, outdoor landscapes. With the advent of the Sierra Club in the early 20th century, Brigman explored the remote and rugged terrain of the Sierra Nevada with an intrepid spirit, where she often staged nude photographs of herself and her friends among the gnarled trees and rocky terrain – her work was radical for its time. Brigman's significance spanned both coasts: in northern California, where she lived, she was known as a poet, a critic, and a practitioner of Pictorialist photography – a movement that employed various methods of manipulation to achieve images that were considered beautiful and romantic; on the east coast, her work was promoted by Alfred Stieglitz with whom she corresponded for many years. Stieglitz published her work in Camera Work and elected her as a Fellow of the prestigious Photo-Secession.