THE CRITICISM OF ROBERT FRANK'S "THE AMERICANS" Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Alexander, Stuart Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 11:13:03 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/277059 INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this document, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1. 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It is customary to begin filming at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. If necessary, sectioning is continued again—beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. For illustrations that cannot be satisfactorily reproduced by xerographic means, photographic prints can be purchased at additional cost and inserted into your xerographic copy. These prints are available upon request from the Dissertations Customer Services Department. 5. Some pages in any document may have indistinct print. In all cases the best available copy has been filmed. University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 1329507 Alexander, Stuart Robert THE CRITICISM OF ROBERT FRANK'S "THE AMERICANS" The University of Arizona M.A. 1986 University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 THE CRITICISM OF ROBERT FRANK'S THE AMERICANS by Stuart Robert Alexander A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ART In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS WITH A MAJOR IN ART HISTORY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 86 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: U/?/*C K: MCELROY Date Associate Professor of For Gail iii PREFACE This thesis is but one of the fruits of several years of research on Robert Frank. He is considered to be one of the most impor­ tant figures in the history of photography, yet surprisingly little is known about him and his work. Out of frustration with the lack of reliable information available, the preliminary bibliographic search expanded into an exhaustive one. This included countless interlibrary loan requests and forays into photographic archives and publishers' files. The material, thus gathered, raised many questions. A search for answers and a quest for further knowledge initiated a voluminous correspondence and numerous telephone and personal interviews with librarians, gallery and museum personnel, historians, critics, Frank's friends and associates, and Frank himself. The result is Robert Frank: A Bibliography, Filmography, and Exhibition Chronology, 1946-1985. Its 2,300 references are fully annotated, indexed, and cross-referenced. That research tool formed the basis for this study. Originally inten­ ded for this thesis, the bibliography became too large for inclusion. Fortunately, I was able to make it more widely available. In the fall of 1986, the 224-page reference book will be co-published by the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. For the student of Frank who wishes to delve further into the literature and criticism of Frank, this bibliography is essential. iv V Other spin-offs of this research are, the first detailed Robert Frank chronology, co-authored with Anne W. Tucker, and a large, selec­ ted bibliography—the only such compilation published to date. Both are included in Robert Frank: New York to Nova Scotia. Edited by Tucker and Philip Brookman, it was issued by The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 1986. I want to express my gratitude again to all those people and institutions listed in the acknowledgments of the published biblio­ graphy. Special thanks to my thesis director Prof. Keith McElroy for his critical reading of this thesis and for his support. No amount of thanks can ever repay Gail Hebda Alexander for all she has given me. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. EARLY YEARS 4 3. THE GUGGENHEIM PROJECT 25 4. THE AMERICANS 55 5. THE SIXTIES 82 6. THE SECOND EDITION OF THE AMERICANS AND THE MID-SEVENTIES 102 7. THE 1978 EDITION OF THE AMERICANS AND THE EIGHTIES 117 LIST OF REFERENCES 139 vi ABSTRACT This is a study of the critical reception of Robert Frank's book of photographs, The Americans, from 1957, when the maquette was created, until 1985, when the fourth revised edition was printed. The development of Frank's reputation from the forties through the sixties is traced and the importance of the context of presentation of the photographs made for the book is demonstrated. An investigation of the controversy over The Americans reveals that critics disagreed over the implication of the title, the free handling of the medium, the sophisticated sequencing, the critical attitude, the use of the commonplace as symbol, and Frank's personal application of the documentary style. An examination of the reception of the various subsequent editions of the book emphasizes that it has meant different things to different people through time. But it remains an imposing*work that has retained its strength and does not look dated. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Robert Frank's most highly regarded achievement is his book The Americans. It is considered to be a major landmark in the history of photography. The book resulted from Frank's project to photograph the United States with the assistance of a Guggenheim fellowship in 1955 and 1956. Few works that hold such an exalted position in the medium today have aroused such controversy and suffered as much harsh criticism as his did. This study is a discussion of the critical reception of The Americans from 1957, when the maquette for the book was created, until the end of 1985, when the fourth revised edition was printed. Through careful consideration of the evidence, this thesis attempts to correct some of the myths, misconceptions, and errors that abound in the literature on Frank and The Americans. Incorporated is an account of the development of Frank's reputation from his apprentice period in the forties, to the attainment of the Guggenheim fellowship in the fifties, to the status of "master" photographer in the sixties. Also included is a chapter devoted to the Guggenheim project. In it are discussed the various incarnations of that work and the response to it prior to the publication of Les Americains in 1958. 1 2 Another aim of this study is to try—at least in part—to explain why and how The Americans earned a place in all of the standard histories of photography. This includes descriptions of the various editions of the book and the critical assessment of each one. The discussion concentrates on the essential perceptions of the work and the changing attitudes toward it. It should be noted that Robert Frank has made movies for more years than he made photographs. His films and the vast literature about them will not be discussed. It is a topic that deserves its own full-length study. However, a few words about it may be helpful to the reader. Frank's most intensive criticism of himself and his photography occurs in his films. It is unfortunate that his work in the cinema is not readily accessible and not better known. For anyone who seeks a more thorough understanding of the man and his photography, at least a familiarity with his films is requisite because numerous insights may be found there. Frank's first film, Pull My Daisy, was made in 1959 with Alfred Leslie.