As a book for a retrospective, Saul Leiter shines. The book presents the photographer’s work in probably the best possible way, with many example photography and essays, all of which are very much readable and informative (something that, sadly, is not always the case for such books). A lot of attention has been paid to details: For example, the book smartly uses different types of paper for different purposes - such as the essays, the main pages, or the reproductions of sketch books or magazine spreads. The design is elegant. The essays are given in their original languages first (English or German), with translations at the end of the book. This might confuse an audience that only speaks English, but for a German publisher it’s a bold - and obvious - move: most Germans are able to at least read English.
The book includes work from across the full range of the artist’s work, including spreads from fashion magazines, reproductions of b/w and colour photographs, plus paintings and overpainted photographs. One can only hope that it will be widely seen and enjoyed, and one can only hope that it will trigger a re-newed debate about the evolution of colour photography in an art context.
