--- description: A new book published by Steidl sheds light on the color photographer's early work. title: Joel Sternfeld: A Modern Master’s First Pictures image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b132c9e3561cb5c/698799cbe53aba48ec4d8ea0/sweetieface_006_cd_pg17.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Joel Sternfeld: A Modern Master's First Pictures by [Phil Bicker](/author/phil-bicker/) ## Phil Bicker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2011 6:00 PM CUT  9th Street, New York City, 1974 9th Street, New York City, 1974Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York by [Phil Bicker](/author/phil-bicker/) ## Phil Bicker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2011 6:00 PM CUT Among a group who legitimized color as a serious medium for art photographers in the 1970s and 1980s, Joel Sternfeld first came to prominence in 1987 with the publication of _American Prospects_. The book, which featured pictures taken on a series of road trips across the country, subtly documented underlying socioeconomic issues in America with irony and humor. Both poignant and formally beautiful, the images are now considered one of the most important works from the period, and the tome a landmark contribution to the history of American photography. _American Prospects_ was the first of a number of highly regarded and influential books by Sternfeld, which also includes _On This Site_ and _Stranger Passing_. And though _First Pictures_, published this month by Steidl, is the newest by the photographer, the book actually pays tribute to Sternfeld’s beginnings. The book is comprised of Sternfeld’s formative work—mostly unseen until now—and brings further understanding and context to his oeuvre. Featuring Sternfeld’s images from 1971—when he first started taking color pictures — to 1980, _First Pictures_ is broken down into four series: _Nags Head_, a North Carolina beach community; _Rush Hour_, street photography taken outside the Macy’s in New York City, _At the Mall_, taken in New Jersey and most interestingly, _Happy Anniversary Sweetie Face_, a disparate series of images taken during road trips across America, which serves as a direct precedent to _American Prospects_. At the time, Sternfeld was working with kodachrome and a 35mm camera rather than the 10×8 format that he would later use to fine tune his aesthetic. The book showcases work that would secure Sternfeld the first of two Guggenheim photography awards and lay the foundation for _American Prospects_ as well as the work that followed. While some images are indicative of Sternfeld’s trademark style —a pastel color palette, compositions that place seemingly insignificant objects in the landscape to reflect a sometimes ironic, cynical or tragic situation, and a socially conscious eye—other photographs seem to relate more formally to the work of other color photographers such as William Eggleston or Helen Levitt. _First Pictures_ will be a fitting companion to writer and curator Sally Eauclaire’s three book series on color photography: _New Color Photography_, _American Independents_ and _New Color New Work_, published in the early 1980s, each of which placed Sternfeld’s images directly alongside that of other pioneers in color, including Steven Shore, Joel Meyerowitz and Eggleston. _First Pictures_ goes back a little further and reveals how Sternfeld consciously reacted against the influence of some of his contemporaries—particularly Egglestone and his “poetic snapshots”—in order to create his own voice in color photography through narrative photographs that, individual and in sequence, speak not words or even phrases, but sentences, paragraphs and stories. First Pictures, _published by_ [_Steidl_](http://www.steidlville.com/ "undefined")_, is available now. An accompanying exhibition will be on display at_ [_Luhring Augustine_](http://www.luhringaugustine.com/ "undefined") _gallery in New York from Jan. 7-Feb. 4 2012._  9th Street, New York City, 1974 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  New York City, 1973 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  New York City, (#1), 1975 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  Sandusky, Ohio, July 1976 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  Egg Harbor, New Jersey, 1972 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  Washington, D.C., August 1974 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  Nags Head, North Carolina, (#1), June-August 1976 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  Nags Head, North Carolina, (#7), June –August 1976 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  Nags Head, North Carolina, (#28), June-August 1976 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  Nags Head, North Carolina, (#29), June-August 1976 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  Chicago, (#6), 1976 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York  New Jersey, (#26) May / June 1980 Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3781693/joel-sternfeld-a-modern-masters-first-pictures/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3781693/joel-sternfeld-a-modern-masters-first-pictures/"},"headline":"Joel Sternfeld: A Modern Master's First Pictures","datePublished":"2011-10-12T18:00:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:21.525Z","description":"A new book published by Steidl sheds light on the color photographer's early work.","url":"https://time.com/3781693/joel-sternfeld-a-modern-masters-first-pictures/","keywords":["LightBox","1970s","Out There","steidl","color photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b132c9e3561cb5c/698799cbe53aba48ec4d8ea0/sweetieface_006_cd_pg17.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Phil Bicker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/phil-bicker/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b132c9e3561cb5c/698799cbe53aba48ec4d8ea0/sweetieface_006_cd_pg17.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sweetie Face","caption":"9th Street, New York City, 1974","creditText":"Joel Sternfeld—Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3781693/joel-sternfeld-a-modern-masters-first-pictures/","name":"Joel Sternfeld: A Modern Master's First Pictures"}}]}] ```