STRAND (Paul). - Lot 285

STRAND (Paul). Ghana. With a commentary by Basil Davidson. Paris: Chêne, 1976. Large quarto, publisher’s hardcover with an illustrated dust jacket. French edition of the major book on Ghana by Paul Strand (1890–1976), one of the founding masters of modern photography, accompanied by a text by historian Basil Davidson, a specialist on Africa. Produced toward the end of the photographer’s career, this volume is one of his last major editorial projects, following in the tradition of *Time in New England*, *La France de profil*, and *Un Paese*. The photographs, taken in the early 1960s shortly after Ghana’s independence, offer a profoundly humanistic vision of the country: portraits of exceptional intensity, scenes of villages, markets, landscapes, architecture, and glimpses of a nation in the process of building itself. True to his approach, Strand rejects exoticism and favors photography of extreme formal rigor, in which each image becomes a portrait of a community as much as of an individual. Basil Davidson’s text sheds light on Ghana’s historical, social, and political transformations, making this book both a valuable document on contemporary Africa and a masterpiece of photography. Condition: a very fine copy. A tiny, restored tear on the top edge of the dust jacket, which is not significant. Interior is in perfect condition.