Manuel Alvarez Bravo: The Eyes in His Eyes

Frida Kahlo leans against a concrete wall, looking down in somber thought, in a pewter-toned 1930 photograph here by Manuel Alvarez Bravo; in another image, the long screws of plough blades slip together in stacks on a warehouse floor, forming an abstract spiral pattern. From his first days as a photographer, with the backing of such masters as Tina Modotti, Edward Weston, Paul Strand and Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bravo worked over a wide range of styles and subject matter. Yet the background for all his work was the landscape and social geography of Mexico. This striking album reintroduces some of his overlooked masterpieces and many never-before-seen images from his 80-year career.