W. Eugene Smith (American, 1918-1978) Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath, 1971 Gelatin silver print 7-7/8 x 13 inches (19.9 x 33.0 cm) (image/sheet) Signed in ink, mount recto. PROVENANCE: The Artist; Private Collection, New York City; Singer Gallery, Petaluma, California; Private Collection, Sacramento, California; Afterimage Gallery, Dallas, Texas; Hal Gould, acquired 2003. LITERATURE: The Concerned Photographer 2, ICP/ Grossman, New York, 1972; W. E. Smith and A. Smith, Minimata, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1975, pp. 138-139; W. Johnson and J. Enyeart, W. Eugene Smith: Master of the Photographic Essay, Aperture, NY, 1981, pl. 36:052, p. 214; Let Truth Be The Prejudice: W. Eugene Smith, His Life and Photographs, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1986, np. A dreadful disease was crippling hundreds of people in the Japanese city of Minimata. The source of the illness had been traced to the pollution of the sea and fish by mercury waste from the Chisso chemical factory. Protests against the factory were reaching fever pitch when Smith and his wife Aileen arrived in the city. Smith documented their suffering with an unflinching eye and championed their demonstrations... Smith wrote to LIFE HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved