Robert Frank is one of the most important photographers of the modern era. It was Robert Frank’s book, The Americans published in 1958 that pioneered a new direction in post-war photography and photography of the 20th century.

The photo-book, The Americans consisted of 83 black and white photographs chronicling Robert Frank’s trip across the United States over two years beginning in 1955. Frank won a grant to go on the trip across the States from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation - a fellowship award given to gifted and skilled individuals to give them the opportunity to work with as much creative freedom as possible. Frank took with him is family and as they travelled around the US over the next two years, Frank produced over 28,000 photographs and he selected just 83 for the book.

Robert Frank’s work was poles apart from his peers, the other contemporary American photojournalists of the time. Frank had trouble finding a publisher for the book in America so the book was first published in Paris, France and titled Les Americains. When the book was eventually published in America by Grove Press in 1959 it received a great deal of criticism - many at the time were not impressed and dismissed its contemporary, innovative style - a style that was dramatically different from the images of the time.

Robert Frank had an unusual style. He was creative with his use of focus; his photographs often had an out of focus foreground for example. Combined with his new stance toward composition, with its dramatic angles and effective cropping of the scene, all this was unheard of at the time. Frank also exploited the use of low lighting, and the visible grain and that assisted in conjuring a new perception in photography, one of coolness, imperfection, tentativeness and melancholy.

Robert Frank’s new perception was consistent with the way he viewed the world and with how he wanted to present America during his trip. Frank wanted to document the contrasts of optimism in 1950’s America with the true realities of class and race portrayed doused with his own scepticism coupled with such honesty.