Eye of the Beholder Hardcover - 1998

From the publisher

James Stanfield is, without question, one of a kind. He boasts Clint Eastwood's rugged good looks, but he's been to places no movie would ever send a star. He's a natural diplomat, equally at home in an Appalachian farmhouse, a Bedouin tent, or a papal palace. He's an adventurer, a raconteur, a perfectionist...and, more important by far, one of the world's most outstanding, most respected photographers.

This extraordinary record of more than three decades behind the lens celebrates a career that led the White House Photographers Association to name him Photographer of the Year in 1970, 1977, 1982, and 1988 -- just 4 of the over 40 major awards he's won. His work has taken him from the bottomlands of the Potomac River to the Himalayan heights, from Native American powwows to the incense-filled temples of India. He has traveled the globe to document the glittering allure of gold and the skittish, hidden world of rats. And, always, he has produced superlative images that capture the very essence of his subjects.

"Eye of the Beholder" presents 120 examples of Stanfield's finest work, along with his own account of how he created it. You'll accompany him as he makes friends with Vatican prelates and Chinese peasants; you'll hear his inimitable stories of adventure and artistry, and, best of all, you'll see through his keenly observant eye, famous among his colleagues for its ability to discern both the grandeur of the simplest of people and things, and the simple wonder with which the greatest art begins.

As Stanfield would be the first to tell you, it has been a glorious and satisfying experience from start to finish, and in this extraordinary book, you have aonce-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share the glory and the satisfaction alike. This is a man gifted as few men are -- and "Eye of the Beholder" is his generous present to the world.