One Hundred Photographs

BY EVENTUAL profession, Bruce Bernard was a writer, compiler and editor of books about painting and photography. By longer social reputation, he was a well-known figure in Soho in the decades when its pubs and bars were frequented by painters and writers, and by those who nearly were or wanted to be.

Bernard had no academic qualification and gained his considerable knowledge from many years spent in the company of painters and photographers, and by looking at pictures in galleries and in photogaphic archives spread across the world. He was a passionate discoverer, particularly of neglected documentary photography from the 19th and early 20th centuries, and arguably the finest (certainly the most decisive) judge in this country of what makes a good and interesting photograph. More

In 1996 Bruce Bernard was commissioned to create a collection of photographs for an eminent private collector. After several years of trawling through galleries, art fairs and auction houses he settled on 100 images that "truly stimulated and satisfied" him. One Hundred Photographs is a wonderful book of those images. I found it yesterday among the zillions of books at The Book Depot and couldn't put it down. It was tough to choose which of the hundred photos I'd scan and post. They're all so good. Bernard's insights on the photographs are fascinating but you'll have to buy the book to see them.

Eve Arnold (b. 1912)
Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable on the Set of The Misfits (1960)

Detroit Photographic Co.
Mississippi Cotton Gin at Dahomey (1899)

Felice Beato (c.1834-c.1905)
A Yokahama Beauty in the Snow (c.1868)