Robert Frank: Mary's Book at the MFA

Join us for an exhibit celebrating the centennial of famed photographer Robert Frank's birth.  On Friday, May 2 we will embark on a private tour of Mary's Book, a personal scrapbook of photographs Frank made for his for first wife, Mary Lockspeiser.  The tour also includes a talk on the contemporary photographs currently on view in the Rotunda. 

Aside from the MFA entrance fee, there is no charge for this tour but you must register ahead of time.  We will meet at the Herb Ritts Gallery (Gallery 169) shortly before 11. Please contact Marsha Semuels mhsemuels@gmail.com to sign up.  Our group will have lunch in the cafeteria following the tour.

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” features spreads from the album in the MFA’s collection as well as photographs Frank took in Paris, on loan from the artist’s foundation. It is accompanied by a publication that reproduces Mary’s Book in its entirety for the first time.

Many articles have appeared in the media touting this exhibition.  Click here to access these articles.