Alex Benjamin
Subscriber
From December 21, 2024, to June 22, 2025.
www.mfa.org
From the website: "Celebrating the centennial of photographer Robert Frank’s (1924–2019) birth, this exhibition takes an in-depth look at the personal scrapbook of photographs Frank made for Mary Lockspeiser, the woman who became his first wife, titled Mary’s Book. Created in 1949, the one-of-a-kind, handmade book represents a formative moment in Frank’s career, when he experimented with juxtaposing images and text. Seventy-four small photographs and their accompanying inscriptions reveal Frank’s appreciation for the poetic resonance of objects and spaces. Many of the photographs are devoid of people, although a human presence is felt everywhere, such as pages where Frank muses on the chairs and streets of Paris with messages interspersed for Mary. The book is a reflection on solitary contemplation that reads like a lyrical poem and compelling personal photographic sequence."

Robert Frank: Mary’s Book
Celebrating the centennial of photographer Robert Frank’s (1924–2019) birth, this exhibition takes an in-depth look at the personal scrapbook of photographs Frank made for Mary Lockspeiser, the woman who became his first wife, titled Mary’s Book. Created in 1949, the one-of-a-kind, handmade book...
From the website: "Celebrating the centennial of photographer Robert Frank’s (1924–2019) birth, this exhibition takes an in-depth look at the personal scrapbook of photographs Frank made for Mary Lockspeiser, the woman who became his first wife, titled Mary’s Book. Created in 1949, the one-of-a-kind, handmade book represents a formative moment in Frank’s career, when he experimented with juxtaposing images and text. Seventy-four small photographs and their accompanying inscriptions reveal Frank’s appreciation for the poetic resonance of objects and spaces. Many of the photographs are devoid of people, although a human presence is felt everywhere, such as pages where Frank muses on the chairs and streets of Paris with messages interspersed for Mary. The book is a reflection on solitary contemplation that reads like a lyrical poem and compelling personal photographic sequence."