Signs of Life Photographs by Peter Sekaer

Peter Sekaer (1901-50) emerged as an artist in the company of Ben Shahn, Berenice Abbott, and Walker Evans. This book intends to show how he stepped from their benign shadows to build his own distinctive style. It is the first monograph to show the full range of his accomplishments. Sekaers early work combines dispassionate images with others that show his concern and intuitive grasp of the human condition. Many of his most memorable photographs were made while fulfilling mundane assignments for various government agencies. Sekaer had none of the reformers passion found in the works of Jacob Riis or Lewis Hine. His stance was more that of the artist/anthropologist, who delighted in recording the artifacts and gestures that defined American society in the 1930s. John T. Hill is a photographer, designer, and formerly Director of Graduate Studies in Photography at Yale University. He first became attracted to Sekaers work in his capacity as executor of the Walker Evans estate. He is co-author of Walker Evans: The Hungry Eye and author of Walker Evans: Lyric Documentary. Current projects include volumes on the works of Herbert Matter and Norman Ives. Julian Cox is curator of photography at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. His recent publications include The Portrait Unbound: Photographs by Robert Weingarten (2010), Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968 (2008) and Harry Callahan: Eleanor (2007). Christina Sekaer, is the younger daughter of Peter Sekaer. In addition to her work as a psychiatrist, she is active as a photographer and painter. She lives in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Co-Published with the High Museum of Art, Atlanta in cooperation with the Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York. Exhibition: High Museum of Art, Atlanta, June 5, 2010 to January 9, 2011