Which art books, prints and posters are available by and about this artist? Here is a sample of items of interest to a typical collector:
Frank Gohlke (b. 1942) is an American landscape photographer whose work examines the complex relationships between human habitation, architectural structures, and natural forces. Known for his meticulous large-format photography, he is a leading figure in documenting the vernacular American landscape.
Gohlke was one of ten photographers, alongside figures like Joe Deal, John Schott, and Robert Adams—selected for the landmark 1975 exhibition New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape at the George Eastman House. This exhibition signaled a critical shift away from romantic nature photography toward an unvarnished, objective view of the built environment.
Initially pursuing literary academia, Gohlke earned a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin in 1964 and an M.A. in English from Yale University in 1966. While at Yale, he met the renowned documentary photographer Walker Evans, who encouraged him to pursue photography. He also studied privately with Paul Caponigro.
After relocating to Minneapolis in 1971, Gohlke began his first major body of work. Between 1972 and 1977, he photographed the monumental grain elevators of the American central plains, exploring their functional design and connection to the surrounding towns and landscapes.
A recurring theme in his practice is the impact of catastrophic natural forces. After a devastating F4 tornado struck his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1979, he documented the destruction and subsequent rebuilding of the area, making multiple trips back over a decade. He similarly documented the radically altered terrain surrounding Mount St. Helens after its volcanic eruption. He approached these subjects deliberately to avoid "destruction voyeurism".
Gohlke has been a dedicated educator, teaching at institutions such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. A recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships and two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, his photographs are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
