Through Darkness & Light Portfolio

In association with the Heirs of W. Eugene Smith, Aperture is honored to present this portfolio of five hand-pulled dust-grain photogravures of Smith's most memorable images. The strength of Smith's legendary photographic essays is founded on the dramatic power contained within his single images—each frame a masterpiece of expressive composition and lighting. In the tradition of our classic hand-pulled dust-grain photogravure portfolios from Paul Strand and Alfred Stieglitz, we offer the opportunity to experience firsthand the genius of W. Eugene Smith's images. Smith's unsurpassed ability to distill truth and compassion into a single photograph is evident in each of the images featured in this portfolio. Printed by master photogravure printer Jon Goodman, this portfolio is sold in a cloth-covered clamshell case featuring text, letterpressed by hand, written and signed by Kevin Smith, son of the late photographer.

Portfolio of Five Hand-Pulled Dust-Grain Photogravures
Image Size: Varied (listed below)
Paper Size: 16 x 20 inches
Edition of 150 + 30 Artist Proofs
Signed by Kevin Smith

Photogravures included in this portfolio:
Women gather to mourn an old man’s death, 1950, from the series, Spanish Village
(Image Size: 7 7/8 x 11 7/8 inches)
Dr. Ceriani taking a short cut from house to hospital, 1950, from the series, Country Doctor
(Image Size: 8 11/16 x 10 3/4 inches)
Welsh Miners, 1950, from the series Great Britain
(Image Size: 8 11/16 x 10 3/4 inches)
Albert Schweitzer in Lambarene, 1954
(Image Size: 11 7/8 x 8 3/16 inches)
Walk to Paradise Garden, 1946
(Image Size: 9 13/16 x 7 15/16 inches)

William Eugene Smith (b. 1918, Wichita, Kansas; d. 1978, Tucson, Arizona) took his first photographs at the age of 15 for two local newspapers. In 1936 Smith entered Notre Dame University in Wichita, where a special photographic scholarship was created for him. A year later he left the university and went to New York City, and after studying with Helene Sanders at the New York Institute of Photography, in 1937 he began working for News-Week (later Newsweek), worked as a war correspondent for Flying magazine, and Life, becoming a full member of Magnum Photos in 1957. His archives are held by the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. Today, Smith’s legacy lives on through the W. Eugene Smith Fund to promote ‘humanistic photography, founded in 1980, which awards photographers for exceptional accomplishments in the field.