Rare & Beautiful: How Walker Evans Read T.S. Eliot
An unassuming-looking book links two icons of 20th-century art
By Anne Quito, Superscript September 25, 2013
A touchstone for two titans of American modernism, Walker Evans’s personal copy of T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” testifies to the special connection between the photographer and the poet. Evans, the prodigious photographer of the Great Depression, aspired to be a writer and ardently admired Eliot, only turning to photography as a “left-hand hobby.” With the connection between writers and photographers clear in countless Designers & Books contributors’ lists, Anne Quito spoke to Heather O’Donnell of Honey & Wax Booksellers about this forgotten gem for the second installment of our “Rare & Beautiful” series.
Anne Quito: Among all the extraordinary books in your shop, why did you single out this volume?
Heather O’Donnell: I like the book because Eliot and Evans are such influential figures in the history of American modernism, yet you don’t immediately think of the two of them as connected. On the book, Evans wrote, “New York/March 1926,” which dates his purchase of the book to the month before he left New York for Paris to try his hand at becoming a writer. But Evans had a hard time in Paris and struggled with writer’s block. In his writings, he confessed, “I’d done a lot of reading and I knew what writing was. And if I tried to do it, what I did was ludicrous and I threw it away and blushed.” He admired the modernists, including Eliot, and hoped to follow in their footsteps. I think it’s amazing how they’re linked through this single artifact.
AQ: How do you think Eliot influenced Evans’s work?
HO: For his first published images that appeared in Creative Arts in 1930, Evans borrowed a line from Eliot and captioned the final photograph "Hurry up please, it's time," the insistent last call of Eliot's bartender in "The Waste Land." Clearly, the reading of this book stayed with him. It’s notable how Evans pulls in this phantom from his literary past and makes Eliot a part of his first photo essay.
.jpg)
AQ: Do you think there are similarities between Eliot’s and Evans’s artistic approach?
HO: Most people would probably say that there’s no common thread between their sensibilities. Evans is famous for these straightforward portraits and classically composed images—nothing tricky, no weird angles. Eliot, on the other hand is known for creating elaborate pastiches in his writing. "The Waste Land" is packed with quotations from the eastern and western tradition, lots of word play. But that said, I have to say that a lot of Eliot’s most memorable lines are the simplest: “To Carthage then I came. Burning burning burning burning… April is the cruelest month...” In the same token, Evans gives you a deceptively simple photograph but actually has command of the whole canon and history of composition. He created images of roadside gas stations that looked like Doric temples from the classical tradition.
AQ: Why do you think this book is overlooked?
HO: It’s often overlooked because it’s a small unassuming-looking book. It’s not necessarily the most visually stunning volume on the shelf. As a visually modest book, I think this makes it more special than some of the lavishly produced books out there because it has this singular, special provenance.
Heather O’Donnell is the founder of Honey & Wax Booksellers, a rare and antiquarian bookstore based in Brooklyn, New York. Its second catalogue featuring books with special provenance and association copies is forthcoming in October.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
.jpg)
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
Recent Articles
