Peter Beard - by Owen Edwards & Steven M L Aronson (Hardcover)

About the Book

Pioneering contemporary artist Peter Beard turned his life in New York and on the African continent into a Gesamtkunstwerk; a collage of photography, ecology, and diary writing. The original limited edition may have instantly sold out, but the book is now back to present the artist's unique world, a realm of art, science, and beauty.

Book Synopsis

Artist, diarist, collector, and writer Peter Beard (1938-2020) fashioned his life into a work of art; the illustrated diaries he kept from a young age evolved into a serious career as an artist and earned him a central position in the international art world. He collaborated with Francis Bacon and Salvador Dalí, he made diaries with Andy Warhol, worked on books with scientists like Dr. Norman Borlaug, Dr. Richard Laws, and Alistair Graham, and toured with Truman Capote, Terry Southern, and the Rolling Stones--all of whom are brought to life, literally and figuratively, in his work. He delved into the world of fashion for its beautiful women, taking Vogue stars like Veruschka to Africa and bringing new ones back to the U.S. with him.

After spending time in Kenya and striking up a friendship with the author Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) in the early 1960s, Beard bought 50 acres next to her farm with the stipulation that he would film and write about the land and its flora and fauna. He witnessed the dawn of Kenya's population explosion, which challenged finite resources and stressed animal populations--including the starving elephants of Tsavo dying by the tens of thousands in a wasteland of eaten trees. So he documented what he saw--with diaries, photographs, and collages. He went against the wind in publishing unique and sometimes shocking books of these works, including The End of the Game. The corpses were laid bare; the facts carefully recorded, sometimes in type and often by hand. Beard used his photographs as a canvas onto which he superimposed multi-layered contact sheets, ephemera, found objects, newspaper clippings that are elaborately embellished with meticulous handwriting, old-master inspired drawings, and often swaths of animal blood used as paint.

Review Quotes

"A brick of a book."-- "The Herald"

"A distillation of [Beard's] diaries and notebooks that is equally lavish and ambitious."-- "The New York Times"

"An all-out assault on the senses that is in turns sexy, unconventional, energetic, disturbing and provocative."-- "amateurphotographer.co.uk"

"This book captures the spirit and craft of a man who lived large in every sense."-- "artnet.com"

"This extravagant and magnificent book is a work of art in itself."-- "L'EXPRESS"

"...expect to discover a captivating collage of photography, ecology and diary writing."-- "GQ.co.uk"

"A fitting tribute to the late, great photographer."-- "forbes.com"

"All of Peter Beard's best work in one place."-- "AVENUE Magazine"

"Beautiful, heart-rending images."-- "The Guardian"

"For all the hedonism [Beard] remained dedicated to showing how the African continent had been plundered through his unique images."-- "The Times"

"TASCHEN's ode to Peter Beard and his work on the American and African continents."-- "vogue.com"