Featuring work by Cecil Beaton, Brassai, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Raoul Hausmann, Richard Avedon, Man Ray, El Lissitzky, Aleksandr Rodchenko and dozens more of the most outstanding photographers of the twentieth century, this deluxe set is broken into two volumes, each sold separately, that jointly analyze photography as an artistic medium from 1900 to 2000-paying particular attention to the myriad ways that human beings have been portrayed across the years. The first volume collects 114 black-and-white images by the leading photographers and avant-garde artists of the era spanning from 1900-1950. The second features 100 more images, also in black-and-white, that span from 1950-2000. Both volumes are edited by the renowned curator and scholar of historical photography, Ute Eskildsen, who has directed the development of the Photographic Department at the Museum Folkwang, Essen since 1979.

Any examination of the history of the photographic portrait uncovers two very different traditions, shaped by the place where they were made - in the street or in the studio. Both are essentially urban. The street has been the place where small and easily concealed cameras allowed photographers to capture subjects unaware or at least in informal settings. In contrast, the studio offered both photographer and subjects the opportunity to present carefully composed images to the world, making use of all the elaborate staging and technical tricks at their disposal. Both these practices have since been subverted, with celebrities becoming used to posing in the street and the studio being used for informal and intimate shots. For the first time this book examines the contrasts and tensions between these two traditions, revealing much about the history of photography itself and providing fascinating insights into the changing face of societies across the globe.The book will include many of the greatest names in the history of photography. Among those who have famously photographed in the street, it will feature work by Atget, Brassai, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, Araki, Boris Mikhailov and Wolfgang Tillmans. Studio-based photographers include Carlo Ponti, Edward Steichen, Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Annie Leibovitz, Jurgen Teller, and Rineke Dijkstra. Essays by leading critics examine the history of street and studio photography and how the images these photographers have produced has conditioned the way we see both the modern city and ourselves.