The Third Eye 1962 Komroff Resnick Cramer Photography Hardcover

📸 **The Third Eye: A New World of Exploratory Photography** — 1962 surrealist photography by Komroff, Resnick, and Cramer
*Experimental black-and-white photography pushing the boundaries of the medium in early 1960s America.*

**ABOUT THIS BOOK**

Published in 1962 by Walker & Company of New York, “The Third Eye” features the exploratory photography of three artists working at the intersection of painting, surrealism, and the camera: Manuel Komroff, Nathan Resnick, and Konrad Cramer. At a time when most photography books documented reality, this volume deliberately distorted it — blending staged surrealism, abstract compositions, and dreamlike imagery.

**THE PHOTOGRAPHS**

92 pages of full-page black-and-white halftone photographs in an oblong 8 3/4 x 11 inch format. Interior spreads include:

– “The Forest of Ancient” by Komroff — dramatic close-up of intertwined branches, heavy shadows, organic abstraction
– “The Ghost of Bread” — a human eye emerging from sand and pebbles, wheat stalks on the facing page
– “Calligraphy, White” and “Calligraphy, Black” by Komroff — abstract ribbon forms against deep black, exploring line and light
– “Susanna” by Komroff — high-contrast silhouette in dynamic pose
– “The Birth of Eve” by Resnick — swirling, cloud-like abstractions

Minimalist layout throughout, each photograph given generous white space with clean sans-serif captions.

**THE ARTISTS**

– **Manuel Komroff** (1890–1974) — playwright, novelist, and experimental photographer. Work held by the International Center of Photography and Columbia University archives.
– **Nathan Resnick** — active in the 1960s New York art scene. Surrealist gelatin silver prints including “Strange Visitor” (1961) in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
– **Konrad Cramer** (1888–1963) — German-born painter, Woodstock NY art community, taught one of America’s first college photography courses at Bard College.

**WHY IT MATTERS**

– One of the few published volumes from this circle of surrealist artist-photographers in early 1960s America
– Konrad Cramer was a pioneer in academic photography education — his Bard course predated most university programs
– Published just as experimental photography was gaining institutional recognition
– Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 62-12748; rare on the secondary market

**FOR COLLECTORS**

A tangible piece of 1960s American experimental photography — three working artists bridging painting and the camera, in a format that gives each image the space it deserves. Books from this era, when “exploratory photography” was still radical, are increasingly sought by collectors of mid-century art photography and surrealist ephemera.

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**CONDITION:**
This is a “very good” vintage hardcover published in 1962 by Walker and Company, unpaginated; profusely illustrated with black-and-white photographs.

No loose, torn or folded pages; some underlining in a text block at the back of the book, otherwise no writing. Binding and hinges are intact, not split, text block closes tightly. Board corners are mildly bumped, a little wear at tips. Text block edges are bright an uniform all around. Decorations on front board are bright.

Matching vintage dust wrapper is not price clipped. Some edge wear around and chipping at spine edges and flap fold corners. Uniform in color front and back. Now protected in a removable archival sleeve.

See accompanying images for full condition details.

Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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HFB-SEO-v1: 2026-07-06