The Iconic Photobook Robert Frank: The Americans Returns to Aperture

New York, September 9, 2024—Aperture announces the release of Robert Frank: The Americans, marking the centennial of Frank’s birth, and concurrent with a major exhibition of his work at the Museum of Modern Art this fall. First published in France in 1958 and then in the US in 1959, Robert Frank: The Americans is one of the most influential and enduring works of American photography.

This edition of The Americans is a celebrated return of an iconic title to Aperture’s catalog, more than a half-century after the Aperture and Museum of Modern Art edition was published in 1968. Maintaining the finest tritone printing from the 2008 edition, of which Frank was personally involved in every step of the design and production, the new Aperture release also retains the original introduction by Beat poet and novelist Jack Kerouac, imprinting the reach and impact of Frank’s work upon broader cultural consciousness.

“Frank’s point of view—at once startling and tenacious—is imbued with humanity and lyricism, painting a searing portrait of a nation full of promise and contradiction. This is a timeless book that shows the power of photography to shine a probing light on the world around us,” said Sarah Meister, Executive Director, Aperture. “With generous support from the June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation in recognition of Aperture’s established history of publishing excellence—and the challenges Frank faced finding a publisher as a young artist—we are grateful for the opportunity to bring this title back into print, ensuring that new generations will have access to one of the most significant photobooks of all time.

The Swiss-born artist won back-to-back Guggenheim Fellowships in 1955 and 1956 and set out on what would become a 10,000-mile road trip throughout the United States, capturing American life with a poetic and critical eye. The exquisitely sequenced book of eighty-three images unveils facets of American life that had previously gone unacknowledged or uncelebrated: confronting its audience with the superficial allure of Hollywood or an underbelly of racial inequality and injustice, it is also interspersed with images conveying the gleaming beauty and pathos of the chrome surfaces in a diner or the jukebox in a roadside bar. Taken as a whole, The Americans captures the aspirations and the stark reality of the American Dream.

Frank’s exacting vision, distinct style, and poetic insight changed the course of twentieth-century art and influenced subsequent generations of photographers, including Dawoud Bey, Lee Friedlander, Nan Goldin, Danny Lyon, Joel Meyerowitz, Ed Ruscha, and Garry Winogrand. Now extolled as one of the most groundbreaking photobooks ever published, The Americans remains as powerful and provocative as it was upon publication and continues to resonate with audiences today.

The release coincides with a major retrospective, Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, from September 15, 2024, through January 11, 2025.

A special slipcased edition of 1,500 copies will also be offered exclusively by Aperture. The limited edition includes a collectible booklet showcasing Frank’s early films, which had been included only in the 1968 and 1969 Aperture releases of The Americans. Both the hardcover and slipcased editions of Robert Frank: The Americans are available at aperture.org/books.

Public Programs
The Aperture PhotoBook Club will discuss Frank’s indelible images and the enduring legacy of one of the most influential photobooks of the twentieth century with Aperture’s executive director Sarah Meister, Lucy Gallun, photography curator at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and photographers Miranda Barnes, Paul Graham, and Andre D. Wagner. The virtual public program is free and open to all, and will be held on Wednesday, October 30 at 7pm, with details available at aperture.org/events.

Robert Frank (born in Zurich, Switzerland, 1924; died in Nova Scotia, Canada, 2019) was a Swiss-born American photographer and documentary filmmaker whose other books include The Lines of My Hand (1972); Hold Still, Keep Going (2001); and London/Wales (2003). His equally heralded films include Pull My Daisy (1959) and Cocksucker Blues (1972). His work The Americans is arguably the most famous photography book of all time.

Jack Kerouac (born in Lowell, Massachusetts, 1922; died in St. Petersburg, Florida,1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, and artist, best known for his novel On the Road (1957). He was a leading voice of the Beat Generation in the 1950s.

Robert Frank: The Americans is made possible thanks to the ongoing collaboration and support from the June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation.

About Aperture
Aperture is a nonprofit publisher that leads conversations around photography worldwide. From its base in New York, Aperture connects global audiences and supports artists through its acclaimed quarterly magazine, books, exhibitions, digital platforms, public programs, limited-edition prints, and awards. Established in 1952 to advance “creative thinking, significantly expressed in words and photographs, Aperture champions photography’s vital role in nurturing curiosity and encouraging a more just, tolerant society.

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Press Contacts:
Lauren Van Natten
publicity@aperture.org

Kate Greenberg
kate@arply.co