Face of Washington Square. 1965. Text in Japanese. Illustrated with full-page reproductions of Watanabe's photographs of New York City's architecture and inhabitants in and around the famous landmark. 4to, black wrappers; photo-pictorial jacket; lightly worn. FIRST JAPANESE EDITION. Tokyo: Hashimoto Yuyodo.
Sumiharu Watanabe was one of the few Japanese photographers to travel to New York in the 1960s. He worked at Nikon USA between 1962 and 1964, and as a newcomer to the city, wandered the streets with his camera, capturing a changing city landscape through fresh eyes. One of the more underappreciated documents of 1960s New York, Watanabe masterfully documents Greenwich Village, specifically Washington Square Park, and the people who spent time there. He records daily life: people playing in the fountain, playing music, playing chess, working in storefronts and restaurants, participating in actions and demonstrations, partying, and more. Shots progress from Spring to Winter, giving a naturalistic and lyrical tone to the work.
