W. Eugene Smith (American, 1918-1978). Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath, 1971. Gelatin silver print. 7-3/4 x 12-7/8 inches (19....

Description

W. Eugene Smith (American, 1918-1978)
Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath, 1971
Gelatin silver print
7-3/4 x 12-7/8 inches (19.7 x 32.7 cm) (image/sheet)
Signed and titled in pencil, mount recto.

LITERATURE:
The Concerned Photographer 2, ICP/ Grossman, New York, 1972;
W. E. Smith and A. Smith, Minimata, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1975, pp. 138-139;
W. Johnson and J. Enyeart, W. Eugene Smith: Master of the Photographic Essay, Aperture, NY, 1981, pl. 36:052, p. 214;
Let Truth Be The Prejudice: W. Eugene Smith, His Life and Photographs, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1986, np.

A dreadful disease was crippling hundreds of people in the Japanese city of Minimata. The source of the illness had been traced to the pollution of the sea and fish by mercury waste from the Chisso chemical factory. Protests against the factory were reaching fever pitch when Smith and his wife Aileen arrived in the city. Smith championed their demonstrations and documented their suffering, including this poignant study, with an unflinching eye.


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