Mike Disfarmer (1884-1959) was an American photographer who maintained a portrait studio in his hometown of Heber Springs, Arkansas, where he  photographed members of the local community for a small fee. Disfarmer’s reclusive and eccentric personality made him somewhat of an oddity to others. Born Mike Meyer he was taken by the idea that at birth a tornado had carried him away from his birth parents only to deposit him in Arkansas with the Meyer family. Since he was not a Meyer or a farmer, he explained, he would be a “dis” farmer, and so he legally changed his name. Having your picture taken at Disfarmer’s studio became one of the main attractions of a trip into town. His photographs capture the essence of a small town Arkansas with piercing solemnity and a touching simplicity. His genius was the ability to capture without judgment, the essence of a people and a time. His portraits are included in the permanent collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Arkansas Arts Center Museum and the International Center of Photography.

Description: Hard bound in blue cloth with mylar dust jacket. (missing original dust wrapper) 136 pages. Illustrated with over 100 black & white portraits taken in rural Arkansas by the native photographer Mike Disfarmer.   Some minor wear to boards, otherwise very good.

Bookseller Inventory # 18490

SOLD

Disfarmer: The Heber Springs Portraits, 1939-1946
Scully, Julia

Publisher: Addison House
Publication Date: 1976
Binding: Hard Bound
Book Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket
Edition: First Edition

· Category: Sold ·