Newly discovered in Frank’s archive, these three maquettes underscore his love of Polaroid photography
The Polaroid camera, with its unique prints, was one of Robert Frank’s (1924–2019) favorite ways of making photographs. Red Table, Green Tree and From the Window, by the Window are three volumes of rarely or unseen original Polaroid and Fuji Instax facsimiles. Volume one, Red Table, includes images of a small red table Frank found in an antique shop in New Glasgow. The table found its place in the vestibule of the home Frank shared with his wife, artist June Leaf, in Mabou, Nova Scotia. He photographed it multiple times, in different light conditions and with ever-changing objects on its surface. Volume two, Green Tree, presents photographs of the landscape, specifically trees, with their myriad foliage throughout the seasons. Volume three, From the Window, by the Window, contains views from various windows around Frank’s Mabou home, with the focus shifting between the distant sea and the souvenirs he loved to collect. Organized by A-chan, who worked closely with Frank on his later books with Steidl, the instant prints are sorted in albums purchased from a drugstore. Frank and A-chan used these albums as a way to categorize his works, a system Frank incorporated throughout his career.
