In the Picture: Self-Portraits, 1958–2011

Authors

Lee Friedlander

With an afterword by Richard Benson

Lee Friedlander (born 1934) has been tackling the challenge of self-portraiture throughout his prolific career. What began as an unorthodox investigation of the genre has become a masterful engagement spanning five decades. In this extraordinary compilation, which includes hundreds of previously unpublished pictures, we follow the famous photographer through the years as his personal and creative lives unfold and intertwine.

Produced to the highest production standards and featuring over 400 duotone images—from his first self-portraits, taken with cable release in hand, to recent images of the photographer with his family and extended network of friends—In the Picture explores Friedlander’s various guises throughout a rich and colorful life.

Awards/Reviews

2011 Top Ten Photo Books, New York Times

Picture Book of the Week, New Statesman

Through decades of keen observations of the American cultural landscape, Friedlander has been methodically, relentlessly and endearingly documenting himself. “In the Picture” … celebrates the pleasures of looking back at a life well seen. —“Top Ten Photo Books of 2011,” New York Times

Amid all the mischief, the book is also a narrative of a man ageing before our eyes, the young, lean Friedlander gradually giving way to a more jowly—and scowly—presence… . A life laid bare, then, but slyly and with a self-questioning smile. —Sean O’Hagan, The Observer