Ernst Haas Color Photography

This collection of 153 color photographs, taken between 1952 and Haas's death in 1986, ranges in style and subject from depictions of the abstract qualities of flattened cans, torn posters and road markings to the documentation of a crowded Oktoberfest beer hall. Haas was a pioneer and major figure in the field of color photography and one-time president of the famed photo group, Magnum. Here, his blurred, open-shutter images form action-impressions of bullfights, sporting events and running horses. There are meticulous close-ups of flowers and plants, swirls of lichen on a stone, geometric rooftop patterns of a city, reflections in storefront windows, landscapes of the American West, an unusual low-angle shot of Venetian gondolas in front of the Doge's Palace and exotic photos of 1974 coronation day celebrations in Bhutan. A short biography by Magnum member Bondi and a selection of Haas's perceptive writings on photography are a bonus. (Dec.)