Robert Frank: The Americans

A rare look at one of the most influential series of photographs in the postwar era, this exhibition presents the original images for Robert Frank's groundbreaking 1958 publication The Americans. Captured at the height of the myth of the American Dream, Frank's vision revealed a tragic dimension in the spirit of the American Landscape through a photographic style almost without precedent for its directness and emotional force. Today, Frank's photography presents a powerful poetic vision that, like the work of the beat poets and novelists with whom he is associated, must be taken into account when assessing North American culture this century. Frank's strong connections with Nova Scotia include periodic teaching at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and filming in Cape Breton, where he lives for part of each year. Curated by Jock Reynolds from the collection of the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., the exhibition has been organized for travel by Curatorial Assistance Inc. Funding for its appearance at the Dalhousie Art Gallery (the only Canadian venue for the exhibition's North American tour) has been provided through the Canada Council Exhibition Assistance Program.