Cunningham, Imogen. After Ninety by Imogen Cunningham.

Introduction by Margaretta Mitchell. University of Washington, 1977. Cloth, 1st edition (no later printings indicated), fine with near fine protected dust jacket that has a small faint damp stain at top of spine that you really have to look for to discern. Cunningham's last book, produced as a nonegenarian after a career that began in the early 1900s, with 70 full page portraits of aged persons, including photographers Karl Struss and August Sander, taken from the 1930s to 1970s.  Summary:

After Ninety by Imogen Cunningham (published posthumously by the University of Washington Press in 1977) is an intimate, poignant photobook containing 80 portraits of men and women aged ninety and older, taken during the final years of Cunningham's long life.

Key Summary & Highlights

• Exploration of Late Life: Conceived when Cunningham herself entered her nineties, the project confronts aging and mortality not with pity, but with dignity, humor, and sharp realism. The photographs celebrate the vitality, wisdom, resilience, and character etched into the faces and hands of her subjects.

• Diverse Range of Subjects: The portraits encompass a broad cross-section of elderly individuals from various walks of life. Cunningham photographed both famous peers—such as photographer Minor White and painter Morris Graves—as well as everyday working people, residents of nursing homes, and longtime friends.

• Mastery of Environmental Portraiture: Retaining the crisp focus and natural lighting that defined her modern style, Cunningham photographed her subjects in their personal surroundings—living rooms, gardens, or hospital beds—allowing their immediate environments to amplify their personal stories.

• Valedictory Legacy: Cunningham worked tirelessly on the project until her death at age 93 in 1976. Featuring an introduction by her close friend and fellow photographer Margaretta K. Mitchell, After Ninety serves as both a landmark celebration of aging and a fitting capstone to Cunningham's seven-decade artistic career.

Imogen Cunningham (1883–1976)

Imogen Cunningham was one of the most versatile and influential pioneers of 20th-century American photography. Born in Portland, Oregon, she studied chemistry at the University of Washington to understand the science of photographic processing before pursuing advanced studies in photochemistry in Dresden, Germany. Beginning her career in the Pictorialist style, she quickly evolved into a leading practitioner of straight photography, becoming a founding member of the legendary Group f/64 alongside Ansel Adams and Edward Weston in 1932. Her groundbreaking oeuvre spans sharp-focus botanical studies, sensual nudes, Hollywood portraiture for Vanity Fair, street photography, and deeply empathetic portraits. Recognized with multiple honorary doctorates and a Guggenheim Fellowship late in life, Cunningham remained an active, sharp-witted artist into her nineties, leaving behind a legacy that fundamentally shaped modern photography.