Although September and the familiar fall rush of publications are drawing nearer, my mind is still back in June — bright, lush, sun-drenched June. Flipping through my camera roll from this summer returns me to those exhilarating weeks of New York City triumphs (Knicks in five!) and long, easy stretches outside.
Eight decades earlier, Helen Levitt captured the core of that same city energy: children at play, subway mischief, and spirited sidewalk chalk drawings. Her work is among several bodies of photography featured in new and recent photo books, which serve as enduring companions in their own right.
Our list of this month’s favorites includes titles centered on Nuyorican photographer Sophie Rivera and Walter Chandoha’s wonderfully tender archive of some 90,000 cat photos. These books offer a vivid range of perspectives while keeping the summer mood alive a little longer.
Also featured today is a monograph that examines the striking paintings of Armenian Genocide survivor Haroutiun Galentz, along with a critical review of a book on Britain’s theft of Asante gold heritage. —Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor
