PHOTOGRAPHING WATER AND SKY Jean-Baptiste-Gustave Le Gray (1820-1884) Whether he wanted to be or not, Gustave Le Gray was a child of his time, deeply engaged in creating a national heritage for France through his photographic practice. After the French Revolution,...
PHOTOGRAPHING THE FOREST OF FONTAINEBLEAU Gustave Le Gray (1820-1884) “Watch the horizon, watch the horizon. . . that’s Le Gray.” Sam Wagstaff, 1987 Gustave Le Gray lived what is called a “slipping down life.” At the beginning of his...
WHAT IF AL GORE HAD BEEN THE PRESIDENT? A Review of THE ASSAULT ON REASON, 2007, by Al Gore One of the great “what ifs” in American history is “what if Al Gore had become president in 2000?” Notice I did not say, “What if Al Gore had won the 2000 election?” For...
PRESERVING THE PAST Mission Héliographique: The Project Part Two The invention and development of photography straddled a transition period in both French and English art. The fact that photography was developed in the gap between a declining Romanticism and a rising...
PRESERVING THE PAST Mission Héliographique: Origins Part One One of the major problems raised by the French Revolution was the status of the Catholic Church. With everything old swept away, including the monarchy, the nobility, and religion itself, the brave new...
