Arthur Grace: Communism(s): A Cold War Album

The Cold War is just a distant memory for many, and practically a blank slate for anyone born after 1980. For most people in the West, the realities of life behind the Iron Curtain have faded into caricatures of police state repression and bread lines. With the world seemingly again divided between democracies and authoritarian regimes, it is essential that we understand the reality of life in the Soviet Bloc. Photojournalist Arthur Grace was uniquely placed to provide that context.

During the 1970Æs and 1980Æs, Grace traveled extensively behind the Iron Curtain working primarily for news magazines. One of only a small corps of Western photographers with ongoing access to the area, he was able to take the time to delve into the most ordinary corners of peopleÆs daily lives while also covering significant events which unfolded while on assignment. Many of the photographs in this remarkable book are effectively psychological portraits that leave the viewer with a sense of the gamut of emotions in that er