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."] First edition. Summary:

The American Aesthetic (1969), written by prominent architect-planner Nathaniel Alexander Owings with an introduction by S. Dillon Ripley, is a manifesto on urban planning, land conservation, and architectural design in North America. Owings—a founding partner of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)—combines historical analysis with visionary proposals for modernizing cities while preserving the natural landscape.

Key Themes & Content

• Urban Revitalization & Core Cities: Owings argues against suburban sprawl, advocating instead for high-density, well-planned core cities integrated with efficient transit systems to solve modern social and environmental challenges.

• Aerial Perspective: The book relies heavily on pioneering aerial photography by William A. Garnett, whose dramatic black-and-white and color aerial views capture both the grandeur of natural landforms and the disruptive patterns of industrial development and highways.

• Case Studies & Preservation: Features contemporary urban renewal projects across major American cities (including Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and New York) to demonstrate how civic leadership, policy, and design can restore harmony between human structures and the environment.

Copy available:

• 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.