Photography as Fine Art. The Gallery of World Photography by Bryan Holme.

E.P. Dutton, 1983. First U.S. edition, previously published in Japanese. Fine in large hardcover with near fine protected dust jacket.  First edition.  208 plates with excellent reproduction quality of photographs, most of which are by well known photographers. Some images are classics while others are relatively unfamiliar. Back of the book provides Glossary of terminology and biographies of the photographers who include: Ansel Adams; Diane Arbus; Eugene Atget; Cecil Beaton; Werner Bischof; Bill Brandt; Brassai; Harry Callahan; Cameron; Paul Caponigro; Henri Cartier-Bresson; Imogene Cunningham; Thomas Eakins; Walker Evans; Francis Frith; Shinzo Fukuhara; Ralph Gibson; Lotte Jacobi; Gertrude Kasebier; Andre Kertesz; Dorothea Lange; Man Ray; Joel Meyerowitz; Laszlo Moholy-Nagy; Eadweard Muybridge; Arnold Newman; Timothy O’Sullivan; Gordon Parks; Irving Penn; Eliot Porter; Renger-Patzsch; Aaron Siskind; Edward Steichen; Alfred Stieglitz; Paul Strand; William Henry Fox Talbot; Carleton Watkins; Edward Weston; Minor White; Mehemed Fehmy Agha; Ryoji Akiyama; Manuel Alvarez Bravo; Charles Aubry; Edouard Baldus; Herbert Bayer; Felice Beato; Ruth Bernhard; Erwin Blumenfeld; Adolphe Braun; Bruguiere; Wynn Bullock; Carjat; Paul Citroen; William Clift; Coburn; Van Deren Coke; Francis Edmund Currey; E.S. Curtis; George Platt Lynes; Hoyningen Huene; Dali; Robert Demachy; Adolphe De Meyer; Frantisek Drtikol; Peter Henry Emerson; Frederick Evans; C. Famin; Andreas Feininger; Roger Fenton; Lady Filmer; Robert Frank; Shinzo Fukuhara; William Garnett; Arnold Genthe; Laura Gilpin; Emmet Gowin; Jan Groover; Ernst Haas; Wenzel August Hablik; Gingo Hanawa; Hill and Adamson; Alexander McGlashan; Gunther Hirschel-Protsch; David Hockney; Evelyn Hofer; William Henry Jackson; Diane Keaton; Vilem Kriz; Heinrich Kuhn; Clarence John Laughlin; Rene Le Begue; Gustave Le Gray; Alexander Liberman; Herbert List; Robert Mapplethorpe; Etienne Marey; Margrethe Mather; Ralph Meatyard; Ray Metzker; Duane Michals; Gjon Mili; Felix Nadar; Charles Negre; Hans Namuth; Nicephore Niepce; Nojima; B.J. Ochsner; C. Oorthuys; Paul Outerbridge; Olivia Parker; John Pfahl; David Plowden; William Lake Price; Oscar Rejlander; Baron Von Stillfried Retiniz; Louis Robert; Henry Peach Robinson; Emil Schulthess; Charles Sheeler; Stephen Shore; W. Eugene Smith; Andre Steiner; Josef Sudek; Val Telberg; Tietgens; Jerry Uelsmann; De Villeneuve; H. Voland; Adam Clark Vroman; Weegee; Brett Weston; John Whistler; Clarence White; S. Witkiewicz; and Paul Wolff. Summary:

Photography as Fine Art: The Gallery of World Photography, edited by Bryan Holme with an introduction by Douglas Davis, is a comprehensive anthology and visual history of artistic photography that surveys the evolution of photography as a respected fine art medium. Originally published in Japan and later released in English in 1983 as part of The Gallery of World Photography series, the book spans roughly 217 pages of carefully selected images and commentary that chart key developments in photographic art from its earliest days through the late 20th century.

📸 Content and Structure

• The book is organized around illustrated plates showcasing significant photographs by influential practitioners from across the world. These images, many reproduced at large size, illustrate the breadth and diversity of fine art photography — from its technical beginnings in the 19th century to expressive works by modern masters.

• Featured works include both well-known classics and lesser-familiar prints drawn from major collections, offering readers an expansive look at how photography has been used as a creative and aesthetic medium.

• Following the plates, the book typically includes biographical notes on the photographers represented, helping contextualize their contributions within the broader history of the medium.

📍 Themes and Emphasis

• The anthology emphasizes the idea that photography is a legitimate fine art form — not just a mechanical tool for documentation — by presenting images that demonstrate vision, aesthetic intent, and expressive power.

• The selection highlights the evolution of style, technique, and artistic ambition in photography, showing how photographers have explored portraiture, landscape, abstraction, and experimental forms over roughly a century and a half.

📘 Significance

Photography as Fine Art serves as both an introductory anthology for general readers and a rich visual reference for students and enthusiasts of photographic history. By bringing together a wide range of images and contextual notes in a single volume, the book illustrates the medium’s transformation from a newborn technology — once debated as an art form — into a respected vehicle for artistic expression.