Gowin, Emmet. Emmet Gowin: Photographs 1966-1983.

Introduction by Peter C. Bunnell. Catalog for exhibit at Corcoran Gallery of Art, September 17-November 13, 1983 and Art Museum, Princeton University, February 4-March 25, 1984. Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1983. Illustrated wraps, 38 pages, includes checklist of 66 photographs in the exhibit, list of prior exhibitions, and selected bibliography. First and only edition of 2,000 copies. Finely printed plates, including of Edith Gowin, Italy, Mt. St. Helens, Arizona, Ireland, et al. Almost like new with very minor signs of use. Not issued with ISBN number.  Summary:

Emmet Gowin: Photographs 1966–1983 is a seminal exhibition catalog and retrospective monograph published by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in conjunction with a major solo exhibition of the artist's work. With an introductory text by renowned photographic historian Peter C. Bunnell and personal commentary from Gowin himself, the publication serves as a vital mid-career retrospective documenting the artist's conceptual and stylistic evolution over nearly two decades.

• Intimate Family Portraits: The early half of the volume focuses on Gowin's deeply personal and celebrated portraits of his wife, Edith, his children, and their extended family in rural Virginia. These black-and-white images capture quiet, domestic moments, transforming the ordinary rituals of family life into haunting, gothic, and universally resonant artistic statements.

• Innovations in Technique: The monograph showcases Gowin's masterful use of unique photographic methods. Most notably, it highlights his iconic use of a circular lens on a larger-format camera, leaving the circular black border visible to create an intimate, voyeuristic, and "vessel-like" frame around his subjects.

• Transition to the Landscape: The latter portion of the catalog marks a pivotal thematic shift in Gowin’s career, transitioning from close-up family portraits to expansive landscape studies. It documents his early exploration of natural topographies, including his striking photographs of the volcanic devastation at Mount St. Helens, which laid the groundwork for his later, world-renowned aerial environmental photography.

• Scholarly and Curatorial Context: In addition to its high-quality plates, the catalog features an extensive checklist of the exhibition, a comprehensive chronology of Gowin’s career, a list of past exhibitions, and a selected bibliography, making it an indispensable reference for curators and historians.

• Emmet Gowin is an influential American photographer and educator celebrated for his deeply intimate family portraits and pioneering aerial landscape photography. Born in Danville, Virginia, Gowin studied under Harry Callahan at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he developed an artistic vision that seamlessly blended personal intimacy with technical experimentation. For nearly four decades, he captured arresting black-and-white portraits of his wife, Edith, and their extended family, frequently using a circular-lens format that lent his domestic scenes a quiet, mysterious, and gothic intensity. Later in his career, Gowin transitioned to aerial photography, documenting environmental scars, military test sites, and volcanic devastation to explore human impact on the Earth. A dedicated mentor, he taught at Princeton University for thirty-six years and published several landmark monographs, including his self-titled debut Emmet Gowin: Photographs and Changing the Earth.