W.Eugene Smith

Accompanied by excerpts from the photographer's notebooks and writings, this series of portfolios offers a rich, episodic survey of a quarter century of work. The collection, which ranges from Smith's well-known World War II photographs to his contributions to "the family of man", also includes some of his most famous "Life" magazine photographic essays. Idealistic and socially conscious, Smith believed that it was the responsibility of the photographer to portray as accurately and honestly as possible the human condition. W. Eugene was born in 1918 in Wichita, Kansas. Showing an early talent for photography he dropped out of Notre Dame University and went to New York where he became a freelance photojournalist known for his energy and ambition. A combat photographer during World War II, he was one of "Life's" foremost photographers. From 1946 to 1954, Smith was a freelance photographer until his death in 1978, a trip to Japan in the 1970s resulted in the book "Minamoto", a triumph of a long career.
 
Accompanied by excerpts from the photographer's notebooks and writings, this series of portfolios offers a rich, episodic survey of a quarter century of work. The collection, which ranges from Smith's well-known World War II photographs to his contributions to "the family of man", also includes some of his most famous "Life" magazine photographic essays. Idealistic and socially conscious, Smith believed that it was the responsibility of the photographer to portray as accurately and honestly as possible the human condition. W. Eugene was born in 1918 in Wichita, Kansas. Showing an early talent for photography he dropped out of Notre Dame University and went to New York where he became a freelance photojournalist known for his energy and ambition. A combat photographer during World War II, he was one of "Life's" foremost photographers. From 1946 to 1954, Smith was a freelance photographer until his death in 1978, a trip to Japan in the 1970s resulted in the book "Minamoto", a triumph of a long career.