Garnett, William. The American Aesthetic by Nathaniel Alexander Owings with photographs by William Garnett.

Harper & Row, 1969. [First major publication by Garnett,  Born in 1916, William A. Garnett helped transform aerial photography into an art form and is best known for his photographs taken from the air. His style is noted for strong patterns partially obtained through his exploitation of oblique lighting characteristics of early morning or late afternoon. Not infrequently, his photographs have an ambiguity of scale, as in his Death Valley series, which makes literal interpretation an enjoyable challenge. In 1953, 1956, and 1975, Garnett received Guggenheim fellowships. He first came to national attention in 1954 when Fortune magazine published his work with an introduction by Walker Evans. Selections from his first exhibition at the George Eastman House were published in the New York Times Magazine in 1955.  Garnett became a prolific exhibitor in the U.S. and many other countries, including a number of exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Although never a staff photographer for Life  magazine, Garnett had nine 20-page essays published in that magazine in 1965, the largest extended photo essay in Life's history. The American Aesthetic was the first major book publication with Garnett's work. The text is by a prominent architect and planner and concerns how cities and open spaces can be designed to be "comfortable, beautiful, and profitable." "He shows how our environment can be saved and the American aesthetic realized."] 1st edition. Copies available:

• Fine without dust jacket. (Sold)
• Light stain on rear flyleaf, otherwise fine with very good dust jacket that has short tears, minor wear, and small stain along top edge of rear panel.