© Robert Frank

Robert Frank, U.S. 285, New Mexico (1955). Gelatin silver print, 13 1/4 x 8 5/8 in.

December 2008 Field Guide

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Robert Frank Dealers Sold on Armory Modern, Collectors Less So Tod Papageorge Photography Week Gets Strong Start at Sotheby’s Bound for Glory Atget's Works on Display in Philadelphia

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In the mid-'50s, the Swiss photographer Robert Frank road-tripped around the US on a Guggenheim Fellowship, a journey that yielded both a seminal book and a lasting aesthetic. First published in France in 1958 and in the US the following year, The Americans offers a melancholic yet oddly impassive take on the American quotidian — gas stations, cars, roadside diners, street signs, juke joints. This year is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the book, and to celebrate, the National Gallery offers a rare opportunity to view all 83 photos in The Americans in the context of this influential photographer's larger oeuvre. The show also represents the chance to appreciate Frank's uniquely lyrical style. As Jack Kerouac, himself no stranger to America's lonely roads, noted in his introduction to the book, Frank's photographs "sucked a sad, sweet poem out of America," one that continues to be compelling to our photographers, writers, and musicians. "Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans" originally appeared in the December 2008 / January 2009 issue of Modern Painters. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Modern Painters' December 2008 / January 2009 Table of Contents.