William Klein ABC

Born in New York in 1928, William Klein is one of the leading photographers of the postwar era, as well as an influential filmmaker, painter, and graphic artist. This astonishing book, selected and designed by Klein himself, captures the essence of his life's work. It includes selections from his powerful photo books on New York, Moscow, Rome, Tokyo, and Paris; his dynamic fashion photography that used the city as a stage for glamour; stills and posters from his bitingly satirical films, including his send up of fashion magazines, Who Are You, Polly Magoo; and the graphically powerful painted contact sheets that he has exhibited around the world. Klein, whose achievement puts him on a level with Robert Frank, Richard Avedon, and Irving Penn, lives in Paris and is revered in Europe. This is the first comprehensive book on his work published in the United States in twenty years.