BILLETER (Erika), MAYOU (Roger Marcel), eds. - Lot 26

BILLETER (Erika), MAYOU (Roger Marcel), eds. Self-Portrait in the Age of Photography. Photographers Reflecting Their Own Image. Houston, Museum of Fine Arts / San Antonio Museum Association, 1986. Quarto, publisher’s full black cloth binding with illustrated dust jacket. First edition of this important work published in conjunction with the exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (March 2–30, 1986), and subsequently at the San Antonio Museum of Art (April 12–27, 1986). The texts are by Erika Billeter, then curator at the Kunsthaus in Zurich, and Roger Marcel Mayou. The book is one of the first major overviews devoted exclusively to the photographic self-portrait, spanning from the 19th-century pioneers to contemporary experiments. More than just a catalog, it is a genuine historical and aesthetic study of how photographers have used their own image as a field for experimentation, reflection on identity, or artistic expression. The rich iconography brings together several hundred self-portraits by major photographers, including Hippolyte Bayard, Nadar, Julia Margaret Cameron, Claude Cahun, Florence Henri, Man Ray, André Kertész, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Brassaï, Bill Brandt, Lisette Model, Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander, Duane Michals, Lucas Samaras, Arnulf Rainer, Cindy Sherman, as well as numerous other representatives of the European and American avant-garde movements. This book is now considered a bibliographic reference on the subject and continues to be regularly cited in studies devoted to the photographic self-portrait. Condition: A fine copy. Dust jacket shows slight handling with discreet signs of wear. Interior is fresh.