Robert Frank

Newly discovered in Frank's archive, these three maquettes underscore his love of Polaroid photography

In his later years, the Polaroid camera with its unique prints was Robert Frank's favorite way of making photographs. Red Table, Green Tree, From the Window, by the Window comprises facsimiles of three volumes of as yet unseen Polaroids, sequenced by Frank himself. Volume one, "Red Table," shows images of a small red table he had found in an antique shop in New Glasgow. The table's home was the vestibule in the cottage he shared with his wife, artist June Leaf, in Mabou, Nova Scotia, and he photographed it again and again, in different light conditions and with ever-changing objects on its surface. Volume two, "Green Tree," presents photos of the landscape and specifically trees, with their myriad foliage throughout the seasons. Volume three, "From the Window, by the Window," contains views from the various windows in the house, with Frank's focus shifting between the distant sea and the souvenirs he loved to collect. Frank arranged all these Polaroids in three albums he had bought at a drugstore, patiently inserting and rearranging the prints into the plastic pockets until he was happy with the result. These three maquettes were recently discovered in Frank's archive, and through this publication finally see the light of day.