Dennis Stock is a photographer whose intimate portraits captured iconic figures and historic moments. A member of the Magnum Photos cooperative, Dennis Stock took classic portraits of actors, jazz singers, and hippies, as well as photographs of the natural beauty of Hawaii, the Far East, Japan, and Alaska. Arguably, Stock’s most famous portrait is of the actor James Dean walking through Times Square in 1955—the year of his death. The image quickly became a symbol and precursor of the youth movement of the 1960s. Stock’s relationship with Dean is the subject of a new film, Life, chronicling Dean and Stock’s travels across the US. In addition to the portraits of Dean, this collection includes a dazzling selection from Stock’s oeuvre. Apart from my essay, which introduces the photographer, the volume contains an extensive biography.“The photo essay” Dennis Stock wrote, “is essentially like a composer’s variations on a theme. You are always pushing the envelope more, asking ‘Is there one more thing I can say?’ ”

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