Common to these photographers is the feeling of being improvised and true; all convey a sense of immediate discovery. The older photographers (Winogrand, Arbus, Friedlander) transformed Frank’s vision while using similar photographic tools: a 35 mm camera and fast black-and-white film (Arbus later turned to the larger 2¼“ square camera). The younger group, including Papageorge, Eggleston, and Rubinfien, have extended the tradition while using large format portable cameras (e.g. 2¼“ x 3¼“ roll film), and sometimes color. Through various highly individual approaches, each of these photographers has found a successful solution to the problem of transposing the real world into a clear photograph.

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Although the fact of Frank’s debt to Evans has often been acknowledged by the younger photographer, its extent and depth have never been understood. This is the first exhibition to explore seriously the shape and specifics of this influence. It does so by comparing images from each photographer’s most important work, Walker Evans’ American Photographs, published in 1938, and Robert Frank’s The Americans, published in 1959. In the catalogue which accompanies the exhibition, however, Papageorge concentrates not so much on the obvious relationship of subject matter and composition, as on Frank’s transformation of Evans’ vision. The catalogue reproduces in full page duotones the paired comparisons which form the thesis of the book and the exhibition.

“Walker Evans and Robert Frank: An Essay” on Influence is to be followed in July by “Robert Frank Forward” an exhibition tracing the contribution of Robert Frank through the work of eight modern photographers.

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The photographs of Henry Wessel, Jr. deal with the nature of places, usually public spots- parks, beaches, back and front yards, views from small city streets or highways. These places have been shaped by human activity. Yet Wessel’s photographs of a man gazing at the sea, or a small cottage with a tree in front of it, become something imbued with mystery, far apart from the everyday world. Wessel bestows upon these scenes his own specific and unique meaning which transcends the prosaic subject matter.

Using a 35 mm camera and the most straightforward of approaches, Henry Wessel, Jr. has been making photographs for the past fifteen years.

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