THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY
“This unique collection showcases images that convey a graphic dignity and a sense of silent peace. There is optimism and beauty here. This book leaves us with an outstanding legacy of the photographers’ work.”
—Don McCullin
“Peter’s eye is one of the surest, his knowledge allencompassing and his sensibility, on the evidence presented here, is of great compassion. A joy to see old friends assembled again, but how instructive to make new ones too. I will treasure this book.”
“This book recounts Peter’s relationship with different photographers and the importance of photography in his life. Above all, it is a testament to his deeply-felt love for the world of photographs and photographers.”
—Robin Muir —Sebastião SalgadoDear Friends,
The Power of Photography project was born out of a time of incredible global sadness and pain and unprecedented world anxiety. A forced lockdown allowed for a time of self-reflection for many of us. This stillness gave me time to think about what these images meant to me and, almost for self-therapy, I started to share them on a daily blog.
I thought I would do a week’s worth and then stop because no one else would really care. To my complete surprise, I received feedback that the images and recollections seemed to be helping people, complete strangers, navigate these surreal times. It was a truly humbling experience. So, I continued and then found I couldn’t stop...
One hundred and twenty have now been published in a beautiful hardback book, which I am delighted to share. The online archive continues to grow and is fast approaching seven hundred entries. The paper in your hands begins a further dimension: a series of curated pathways through the collected works. Because these are all photographs that I have collected, they are all personal to me. Whether you discover them online, in print or in person I hope they will give you a moment of pleasure, of contemplation or inspiration.
I have to pinch myself every time the word “collector” enters my orbit. To me, to become a collector one had to be born into a gilded age or be part of a distinguished heritage of enormous wealth: The Fricks, The Mellons, The Rockefellers. Nothing in my background could have prepared
me for this life. When I look at many of these images, first and fore most, they evoke memories of my relationships with their makers; I am so fortunate to have known and collaborated with so many talented photographers. Then there are the memories of the time I first discovered a special image and the profound effect it had on me: overcome by a compulsion—what the French so beautifully call L’amour fou, crazy love—to find a way to acquire it regardless of whether I had enough money to do so.
My collecting mantra is very simple: always be open and receptive, and only collect something that moves you or changes you in some way. Collecting is like reading a great novel; you are one person before and one person after. That’s the litmus test on whether or not you should acquire an image. Does it haunt you?
Photography, for me, has deep meaning and passion. It has educated me. I’ve learned so many things through images that otherwise I may not have encountered. Go on your own journey of self-discovery. Open your eyes and say yes to other people, other cultures. We are all connected.
Peace and love, Peter Fetterman
You can reach us at the gallery in Santa Monica
T +1 310-453-6463 info@peterfetterman.com
Our UK and Europe representative based in London is Kate Stevens T +44 7766 684300 kate@peterfetterman.com
The full archive of The Power of Photography series can be viewed at www.peterfetterman.com
Subscribe to The Power of Photography mailing list on the website using the QR code
My longest and most intense professional collaboration has been with Sebastião Salgado. We first started working together over 30 years ago, when Henri Cartier-Bresson and his wife Martine Franck first introduced us. It has been an amazing journey as I have watched him develop his epic photo projects with such passion and dedication, and execute them to the highest professional and ethical standards. This journey has been shared with his equally amazing wife and artistic partner Lélia Wanick. I have never seen two people so professionally in sync. They have been such an inspiration to me and continue to be a big, big part of my life. I sincerely believe Salgado is the greatest living photographer and his position in the history of this medium is unassailable. With the founding of their remarkable non-profit rainforest project “Instituto Terra” and the planting of four million trees to date, to say he and his wife are both forces of nature is a vast understatement. This beautiful and haunting image is part of their stunning project, “Amazonia”.
I work alone. Humans are incredible because when you come alone, they will receive you, they accept you, they protect you, they give you all the things you need and they teach you all things you must know.
—Sebastião Salgado
I believe taking a photograph is an unspoken conversation in a shared space where the sitter and the maker reveal their being in a kind of silent dance of escalating trust and affinity. We look at each other, daydream about each other and those dreams never, ever meet, except in the photograph.
—Melvin Sokolsky MELVIN SOKOLSKY USA, b.1933 In trees, Paris, 1963Melvin Sokolsky encountered the world of Hieronymous Bosch and in particular his Garden of Earthly Delights as a child, and it must have had a lasting influence on him. His imagination always ran rampant and when at the early age of 21 he found the perfect forum for it in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, he became one of the title’s most successful photographers wit his tireless experimentations and skilful craftsmanship. It was nowhere better displayed than in his celebrated ‘Bubble’ series for the magazine. One must remember this was an era of predigital editing when the “unreal” had to be steeped in reality and dreams were only fulfilled by hard work, dedication, passion and enormous talent. As one of his favourite models, Dorothy McCowan, commented: “There is no such thing as impossible when Melvin has an idea.”
Lillian Bassman had a long and wonderfully creative life. She was a friend, colleague and competitor of the traditional “boys’ club” of fashion photographers, including Penn and Avedon, while also maintaining the balance needed to bring up two children during an era when the majority of mothers did not work outside the home. Her energy and talent were an inspiration throughout her career. Personally, it was my great honour and privilege to present her first West Coast exhibition at our gallery. What she explained to me during our many discussions was that she felt there was often a notable difference when a woman was photographing a female model, versus when photographed by a man. Gone was the performance element of the model trying to seduce the photographer and in its place was this special “connection”. Bassman’s models are presented to the viewer as “real” and noticeably open, as opposed to the sense of being objectified. She liked to talk with them about their husbands, boyfriends, lovers and children. They opened up to her and this allowed them to relax into their natural beauty in front of her lens. Certain facades were removed, and the images celebrate this genuine intimacy.
When I photograph, I project what I’m not. What I would like to be.
—Lillian Bassman© Estate of Lillian Bassman
A fashion photographer I am and remain. I can say that for certain, but I also take photographs without any particular aim in mind. Photographs of everything and nothing, things that look good to me or that don’t look good. I wander but wandering is not so different from dancing. Things have come full circle and while there’s still time and for as long as I can, I want to see. I want to take photographs and all kinds of dancing are allowed.
—Sarah Moon
Sarah Moon, like all great artists, approaches beauty with her own unique blend of creativity and inspiration. Her work takes on a transcendent vision, allowing us into a realm that almost defies description. Beauty becomes something even more powerful thanks to Moon’s intimate relationship with her subject matter. Here, she has created an image that is seductive in its ethereal pose, elevated from talented to genius by the simple act of photographing her model from behind. We are as intrigued by what we can’t see, the hidden and missing elements, as we are by that which we can. This serene composition reminds me of a John Singer Sargent, a Degas or a Mary Cassatt.
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GRACIELA ITURBIDE Mexico, B.1942 Cayo del Cielo, Chalma, 1990
© 2021 Graciela Iturbide
Graciela Iturbide tenderly captures the soul of Mexico in her gentle, intimate and highly empathetic works of art. One of Latin America’s most renowned photographers, she uses her camera to observe the variety of humanity all around her. In this image, Iturbide quietly assimilates herself into the festive ambiance of a San Miguel Archangel celebration – a woman hoists up her silky white dress as she floats across the frame in a majestically fleeting moment. Although comprising a simple gesture, Iturbide imbues it with such deep feeling we are mesmerised by its power. Beautifully titled ‘Fallen from Heaven’, the name of this photograph works on many levels, including the fact that she forgot she had even taken it, only discovering it later in her contact sheets, unexpectedly appearing like a gift from the photo gods that she was graciously and mystically given. Thankfully, it was received by us, an eager audience, to enjoy and revel in a perfect moment.
The unconscious obsession that we photographers have is that wherever we go we want to find the theme that we carry inside ourselves.
—Graciela Iturbide
I asked them to pose a bit like fashion models. They were afraid that I’d be making fun of them. But when they saw the photograph, they thought they looked beautiful.
I think they look beautiful myself and sexy.
—William Klein
WILLIAM KLEIN USA, B.1928 Club Allegro Fortissimo, Paris, 1990
© 2021 William Klein
Shot in a Russian steam bath in Paris, Klein imbues his image with tenderness, strength, warmth and an alluring invitation that seduces the audience as we step into the vibrancy of the scene. Celebrating community and strength, there is a quiet power to the focused elements of this photograph. All of our senses are grateful forthe invitation to spend a few moments surrounded by these radiant women. This is an image I enjoy returning to again and again. Definitely beautiful and sexy.
To produce a great image is like catching magic in a bottle. Even such an illustrious figure as Edward Steichen showed us that fashion photography can sometimes be high, high art. Kurt Markus shows us the same in this image, which was photographed in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1988. Its cut-to-chase simplicity and graphic strength are as pure and powerful as it gets.
What I have done is being in the right place and the right time to create a photograph that is now.
—Kurt Markus
KURT MARKUS USA, b.1947 Hooded man, Paris, 1998
Having secured my first gallery exhibition in Atlanta in 1991 I rented vintage bathing suits and caps and called up my friends at the Ford ModelAgency in New York. With no client to please and no product to sell I was finally free to have fun and create beautiful art, and this was one of the stand-out images made that day. The exhibition was a huge success, with two particularly important patrons of note - Sir Elton John and Mr. Peter Fetterman. It can take a lifetime and a great journey to be recognised in photography, I’m proud and honoured to be included here.
—Len Prince
I met Len Prince early on in my gallery career. I was impressed by his approach to photography and his attention to detail. A successful New York fashion photographer, Prince has a quiet, sensitive manner that contrasts sharply with the turbulence of the industry he worked in. We collaborated on some special platinum print projects, a medium we both admired. This is one of them. Sometimes art is generated from pure simplicity. A classic profile. A beautiful scalloped bathing cap. Voila! Pure magic.
I consider this image to be the best example of that special “Paris Light”, a phenomenon I always enjoy experiencing. It was taken one afternoon in 1948, near the intersection at Sevres-Babylone. Ronis had done his homework. Acquainted with his beloved city like the back of his hand, he knew what time of day offered the best opportunity for generous light, especially his preferred source, back light. The composition is perfection, with the awning on the left side of the frame and the veiled sun in front. As Ronis recounted in his notes: “I had taken two shots with little enthusiasm and then suddenly this woman appeared out in the open. Jubilation was immediately followed by a twinge of unease, as is always the case in these delicate situations. Had I pressed the shutter at the crucial moment?” The answer is indisputable. Of course he had.
© RMN-Médiathèque. Carrefour Sèvres–Babylone, Paris. 20 February, 1948.
Photograph, from a gelatin brome silver negative, 6 x 6 cm. 82L9135t81
I never went out without my camera, even to buy bread.
—Willy Ronis
© La 2CV, Paris 1957. Sabine Weiss
I just walk around, feel and see things. That way nothing has to happen. Your vision however becomes more acute. Sometimes, after having wandered around for a whole day, I return with nothing. On another day there may be 26 new pictures in the box. It all depends on my ability to establish contact with people or the situations on the spot.
—Sabine WeissSabine Weiss, who passed away recently at the age of 97, was the last living photographer from one of my favourite eras in the history of the medium – the French humanist post-war period, which gave us Boubat, Doisneau and Ronis. Even in her last years she was absolutely spilling over with vigour, vitality and enthusiasm. I remember being witness to an incredible occasion when she was 91 and being honoured with a large exhibition in Paris. There was a special book-signing event arranged for her, which was originally scheduled for one hour at noon. However, there were such crowds that the queues ran around the block, with hundreds of people waiting to have their copies signed and personalised by her. The book signing lasted over five hours and for the duration Weiss was patient, courteous and focused on each and every individual who was lucky enough to be present that day. She is more than worthy of the adoration
You can find pictures anywhere. It’s simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them. You just have to care about what’s around you and have a concern with humanity and the human comedy.
—Elliott ErwittElliott Erwitt – another all-time favourite human being and photographer of mine. Intelligent, insightful, gracious and human. On temporary leave from army service, Erwitt was sleeping on the couch in an apartment shared by his friend Robert Frank and his wife, and captured this wonderfully joyful moment.
Stettner divided most of his creative life between New York and Paris. Brooklyn made him who he was, but Paris made him into the poet he became. It was a unique honour to visit Stettner in France. He was a true original. Tough and combative on the outside but a gentle soul on the inside, Stettner was a big bear of a man, almost biblical in appearance. The value of this image is increased exponentially by the fact that the original Penn Station is now just a memory. A moving image of a New York past.
I photograph the world around me. This is what I feel.
The joy, the love, the pleasure that is in life.
—Louis Stettner
The art of fashion in photography began as the earliest photographic images were made: clothing, stance and setting carefully chosen, and often elaborately constructed. Fashion in its broadest terms can express our individual identity, a sense of belonging, the spirit and mood of generations - a universal desire to look, to expose, to reveal, to bear witness.
This first pathway into The Power of Photography archive expands online with related and further works including Lillian Bassman, Georges Dambier, Flor Garduño, Ralph Gibson, William Helburn, George Hoyningen-Huene, Graciela Iturbide, William Klein, Frances McLaughlin-Gill, Steve McCurry, Sarah Moon, Norman Parkinson, Willy Ronis, Sebastião Salgado, Melvin Sokolsky and Sabine Weiss.
Dive in to begin your own personal journey of collecting and appreciation, accompanied by the words of each photographer and the recollections and reflections of pioneering gallerist Peter Fetterman.
The full archive of The Power of Photography series can be viewed at www.peterfetterman.com
Subscribe to the mailing list to receive daily posts, news of exhibitions, special events and art fairs. Further curated views and in-depth focus on individual photographers will be previewed exclusively to subscribers.
You can reach us at the gallery in Santa Monica T +1 310-453-6463 info@peterfetterman.com
Our UK and Europe representative based in London is Kate Stevens T +44 7766 684300 kate@peterfetterman.com
Born in London, Peter Fetterman has been deeply involved in the medium of photography for over 30 years. Initially a filmmaker and collector, he set up his first gallery over 20 years ago. He was one of the pioneer tenants of Bergamot Station, the Santa Monica Center of the Arts when it first opened in 1994. The gallery has one of the largest inventories of classic 20th Century photography in the country particularly in humanist photography. Diverse holdings include work by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Steve McCurry, Ansel Adams, Paul Caponigro, Willy Ronis, André Kertesz, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Lillian Bassman, Pentti Sammallahti, Sarah Moon and Jeffrey Conley.
Peter and his colleagues are committed to promoting the awareness and appreciation of the most powerful of the mediums in an intimate, user-friendly salon environment.
Image credits, all courtesy of Peter Fetterman Gallery: Front cover © Len Prince Photography & Papers, Collection, Stuart A. Rose Library at Emory University. Ford Model VIII Bathing Cap, New York City, 1991; Back cover © 2021 Graciela Iturbide; Pg. 4 Sebastião Salgado © Amazonas Images; Pg. 7 © 2021 Melvin Sokolsky; Pg.8 © Estate of Lillian Bassman; Pg. 11 © 2021 Sarah Moon; Pg. 12-13 © 2021 Graciela Iturbide; Pg. 16-17 © 2021 William Klein; Pg.19 © 2021 Kurt Markus; Pg. 20 © Len Prince Photography & Papers, Collection, Stuart A. Rose Library at Emory University. Ford Model VIII Bathing Cap, New York City, 1991; Pg. 23 Ronis, Willy (1910 – 2009) © RMN-Médiathèque. Carrefour Sèvres–Babylone, Paris. 20 February, 1948. Photograph, from a gelatin brome silver negative, 6 x 6 cm. 82L9135t81; Pg. 24 © La 2CV, Paris 1957. Sabine Weiss; Pg.27 Valencia, Spain, 1952 © 2021 Elliott Erwitt/Magnum Photos; Pg. 28 © 2021 Estate of Louis Stettner.
