America shows its true colours: early Mitch Epstein – in pictures
The pioneering photographer depicted his colourful home country during an era of sexual liberation and crippling war in Vietnam
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Midtown, New York City, 1975
Mitch Epstein shot his first rolls of Kodachrome in 1973, while a student of Garry Winogrand. These early experiments with colour are collected in Silver + Chrome which is out now, published by Steidl. All photographs by Mitch Epstein -
Easter Parade, Fifth Avenue, New York City, 1974
Between 1973 and 76, Mitch Epstein photographed in American cities — New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans, among others -
Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, New York City 1975
In 1973 he was initially shooting in black-and-white as a student of Winogrand when he asked his teacher, ‘Why not color?’ -
Fifth Avenue, New York City IV, 1974
With Winogrand’s blessing, Epstein shot his first rolls of Kodachrome. Silver + Chrome is a chronicle of his three years alternating between colour and black-and-white, before eventually committing to colour -
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Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, New York City, 1974
This book contains Epstein’s earliest work, virtually none of which has been seen before -
Fifth Avenue, New York City V, 1976
In these kinetic tableaux, the artist’s exuberance is tamed, just barely, by his formal intelligence -
Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, New York City II, 1974
He depicts American city life as it undergoes taboo-shattering sexual liberation, economic crises and the repercussions of a boondoggle war in Vietnam -
Fifth Avenue, New York City VI, 1974
His images immerse us in the urban chaos of this complicated time -
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Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Louisiana VI, 1976
Mitchell Epstein was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1952 -
Midtown, New York City II, 1973
He was among the first American fine-art photographers to make significant use of colour -
Fifth Avenue, New York City II, 1976
His work has been exhibited in museums including MOMA in New York and the Tate Modern in London
