The Depression Era photographs of Walker Evans (1903-1975) remain some of the most indelible and iconic images in the American consciousness. James R. Mellow's landmark biography of Evans-the first to make use of all his diaries, letters, work logs, and contact sheets-shows that Evans was not the social propagandist that many presume, but rather a fastidious observer, recording, simply, the way things were. Walker Evans is not only one of the most finely wrought portraits of a major American artist ever, it is also a fascinating cultural history of America in the 1930s and'40s.

About the Author
James R. Mellow (1926-1997) won the National Book Award in 1983 for his biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was the author of a trilogy of biographies on writers of the Lost Generation, including Hemingway: A Life Without Consequences. In his forty-year career as a writer, art critic, and biographer, Mellow wrote for the New York Times, Architectural Digest, the Washington Post, Gourmet, and Arts magazine.


Book Information
ISBN 9780465090785
Author James Mellow
Format Paperback
Page Count 656
Imprint Basic Books
Publisher Basic Books
Weight(grams) 892g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 156mm * 39mm