Eugene Richards

Eugene Richards is one of the most outstanding photojournalists of recent times. His photographs unflinchingly confront the less than pleasant truths of contemporary life, such as living with drug addiction, conditions in institutions for the mentally ill, poverty and illness, and the universal problem of coping with old age. He has won just about every photographic award going and has published many books, including Dorchester Days. The photographs in this Phaidon 55 are incredibly moving as is the text, written by Charles Bowden, a colleague and personal friend. It gives a real insight into Richards as a person and the reasons he takes the kind of pictures he does.