PRESS:

ArtNews, June 2009
Janet Russek:
Beautiful Vulnerabilities

The New Mexican, June 2009
Book Review:
Beaumont's Kitchen

ArtNews, May 2009
Nancy & Beaumont Newhall:
A Centennial Celebration

Black and White #50 April 2008
Janet Russek

Black and White #46 Oct. 2008
David Scheinbaum

Article:
The New Mexican, June 2009 (link to review)
Natasha Nargis

The art of tasteful living
New book details life of photographer, curator and cook Beaumont Newhall

The book Beaumont's Kitchen: Lessons on Food, Life and Photography, published by Radius Books in Santa Fe, is an enchanting look into the persona of influential photographer and curator Beaumont Newhall and his love of cooking — a daily ritual he executed with the same passion and fastidious care he applied to creating his stunning photographs.

It was but an embryo more than three years ago when, at a dinner party, photographers David Scheinbaum and Janet Russek (who are also husband and wife) were enjoying after-dinner conversation with David Skolkin, David Chickey, Joanna Hurley and Darius Himes — the group that launched Radius Books.

As Scheinbaum reminisced about Newhall's weekly food column, Epicure Corner — which appeared in Rochester, N.Y.'s The Brighton-Pittsford Post between 1956 and 1969 — all agreed that it was time to publish a book, which arrives on bookstore shelves this month in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Newhall's birth.

Beaumont's Kitchen is a lovely collection of Newhall's recipes, beautiful black and white food-related photographs by Newhall and other photographers and selected columns from Epicure Corner. It also contains essays by some of those fortunate enough to have been in the "Newhall Circle," including Scheinbaum, MaLin Wilson-Powell, Thomas F. Barrow and Stuart Ashman.

Scheinbaum — a representative of the Newhall estate, an accomplished photographer and former professor of the Marion Center for Photographic Arts at the College of Santa Fe — has written a very personal 10-page introduction that is as informative as it is entertaining. He begins by describing how he found the courage to call Newhall — he had carefully scripted what he would say, but he hung up several times before the call went through. When they finally did speak, Scheinbaum was unable to finish his script because Newhall almost immediately invited him to his house so they could meet. In the 15 years that Scheinbaum worked with Newhall, he said, he learned as much about life as about photography.

"This project is directly related to years working with Beaumont. To me it is a tribute to a friend," Scheinbaum said. "The book recaptures who Beaumont was as a person. It places him in a broader light, making him accessible to a wider range of people."

Scheinbaum said it wasn't difficult to find people to write about Newhall, adding that he was a friend to many. Thomas F. Barrow, professor emeritus of photography at The University of New Mexico, describes Newhall's skillful Christmas-breakfast preparation of Eggs Benedict, from cracking the eggs with one hand and carefully separating them and putting the yolks in the blender for the hollandaise and not holding the lid down — to searching for more eggs on Christmas morning. The eggs were found, and the dish was a huge success.

MaLin Wilson-Powell worked with Newhall from 1980 to 1985, and remembers Newhall cooking her a gourmet lunch the one day a week that she worked for him. She describes his culinary creations as uncomplicated meals of eggs, chicken, fish or pork chops with a salad or fresh vegetables.

"By far, the humble egg was the most frequent fare on our plates," Wilson-Powell remembers. "Decidedly his favorite was an omelette mixed with fines herbes or folded around cheese or paired with a tasty tomato slice."

Newhall would fetch her from work in the library. The table was always set with silver, linen napkins and wine glasses.

Scheinbaum said that when he began thinking about photographs to include he recalled Russek's beautiful images of fruits, vegetables and eggs, as well as photos by Newhall, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and Paul Strand. As the book came closer to becoming a reality, the list of photographers grew to include Henri Cartier-Bresson, Berenice Abbott, Minor White, Ralph Steiner and Todd Webb.

David Chickey has very carefully edited the book, which he says references the time in which Newhall lived and worked. Each photograph is "tipped in," which means the image is printed separately on high-quality paper in order to achieve the best image possible. Chickey said that is the way it was done in the time of Newhall and Adams — adding that in their day it was done that way out of necessity.

"The irony is that now that is a more expensive way — as opposed to when it was a necessity," Chickey said. "It's a purist approach to photography. To produce a book this way in the digital era requires much work."

Scheinbaum said he is thrilled to be able to work with a publisher who is willing to work that way, and to honor where Newhall was coming from. Working on the book fulfilled Chickey's love of photography as well as his love of cooking. He tried most of Newhall's recipes to the joy of his partner and friends, he says, and then decided which ones would make it to the book.

"I tried to pick recipes that are doable now, and decided which columns to include. There were many to choose from," he said. "I included the ones that are most interesting."

For Chickey, trying out the recipes was akin to being with Newhall in the kitchen. In that era, recipes were not written out in the same way they are today, with the lists of ingredients separated from the cooking instructions. He left some of the recipes as Newhall had written them, while slightly updating others to make them easier to follow.

"When I updated a recipe I noted it. I feel that if Beaumont were alive today he would have done the same," Chickey said. "He was a very modern man."

The 160-page hardbound book with 35 tipped-in duotone illustrations is $55. Radius has a Web site, www.radiusbooks.com.