sleek

The golden age of yachts and photography come alive here in 80 superb pictures selected by photo historian Connie Sullivan, with an insightful commentary by yachting historian John Rousmaniere. The yachts portrayed here possess qualities of grace, power and purposefulness, all captured by brilliant images taken by some of America’s finest photographers, one of whom, Stanley Rosenfeld, described their work this way: “We didn’t just make a photograph. When we snapped the shutter, we had to feel both intellectually and in our bodies that what we were doing was right. What motivated us was always the best thing we could see”. In his text and notes on individual pictures, John Rousmaniere explores the various styles of yacht design and yachting photography and their intimate interrelationship. He offers fascinating details about the accomplished but little-known photographers represented here, pointing out the hard work of on-the-water photography that made the creation of these images a heroic endeavor. In detailed comments on the photographs, he tells about the boats, their designers and how and why the pictures were made.

Edition: 2003