I think there is a thread to be observed throughout my work. It’s that I am relatively affirmative. I am not inclined to make fools of people and I love beauty.

-Dennis Stock

Whether photographing Hollywood celebrities or immigrants newly arrived in New York, photographer Dennis Stock (1928-2010) had an extraordinary ability to capture the essence of the American experience. A Magnum photographer for over fifty years, Stock once said that ‘the heartbeat of good photography is discovery’. He was an intrepid visual explorer who turned his eye to the familiar and unfamiliar alike to reveal startling new insights and a fresh beauty.

This volume is the first anthology dedicated to Stock during his most celebrated period of the 1950s to 1970s. Complete access to Stock’s archive has been granted for this book and several of the images are never-before-seen. Included are the photographer’s photo-essay on James Dean shot just seven months before the actor’s death and which culminated in the iconic shot of the actor walking hunched in the rain through Times Square; celebrity portraits including Audrey Hepburn resting her head on a car window on the cusp of fame; Miles Davis playing jazz; JFK on the campaign trail; corporate America; Stock’s California road trip and the alternative lifestyle of the burgeoning hippie movement. Stock’s photographs are introduced by an essay by world-leading photography authority Dr. Michael Pritchard and a foreword from Stock’s friend and colleague at Magnum, Michael Shulman.

For a man who once said that ‘every picture should be a masterpiece’, this stunning coffee table tome is witness to Stock’s immense talent, and his ability to manage just that.