Cowboy Kate & Other Stories –

Director’s Cut – Sam Haskins

Rizzoli Books

Cowboy Kate & Other Stories – Director’s Cut – Sam Haskins – Rizzoli Books

Photo collectors and enthusiasts will rejoice upon hearing that Sam Haskins` wonderful coffee table book has been re-issued (with improvements by Mr. Haskins.) Since it has been forty years since the book’s first publication, it should be no surprise that copies of the original go for five hundred dollars. Cowboy Kate is a legendary book and a rare and playful collection that is as unique in its presentation, as Sam Haskins is a photographer.

It is easy to see from this beautiful re-issue why collectors were so enamored and enchanted by Cowboy Kate, as it is has a touching and innocent charm to it that hasn’t been seen before (and will not likely be seen again.)

Haskins is not only talented but also wields a sensitivity and careful eye that translates into class, elegance and striking beauty.

Cowboy Kate and Other Stories will jump to the top of newcomer’s favorite book lists and will be a rewarding appeasement to those who have scoured bookstores and eBay for a rare copy. (Let us hope that Rizzoli sees fit to publish Mr. Haskins` other books because if they are as gorgeous as Cowboy Kate, we need them in our libraries as soon as it can be arranged.)

In the first several hours of owning Cowboy Kate, I found myself returning to its pages repeatedly, spending more time on images I missed or saw differently my first flip through. Time and time again I found power, innocence, and a purity that I have craved from photography.

Sam Haskins portrays his female subjects as beautiful women first, (if they are nude or partially clothed in some shots, it is incidental because there is always something stronger going on in the frame,) and as characters in his clever fairytale second.

Sometimes it is an angle or perspective that seems fresh and unseen; sometimes it is a magical arrangement such as the shot of a woman in striped shorts standing behind various sized flowers against a white background, and sometimes there are moments of brilliant simplicity that baffle the eye with awe (the two page spread of the nude woman with an exclamatory expression and her chin resting in her open hand is one of the most striking and beautiful images these eyes have ever seen! Sam Haskins not only understand beauty, but also the power of black and white photography and the richness of a well-photographed scene.)

Any one of the images from the nearly 200 pages would be welcome hanging on most walls. I suspect that even the most sensitive or prudish would find the beauty in these photographs. Mr. Haskins had tapped into a genuinely fresh perspective that was ahead of it’s time but refreshingly old-fashioned. It is interesting how such a beautiful collection can re-emerge and take on a whole new life for an audience unfamiliar with this photographic pioneer’s legacy. It was a different time indeed, but Haskins clearly paved new ground and awakened something on a larger scale without pushing boundaries of taste. (Haskins himself has expressed a disdain for the overtly graphic nature of today’s photography where the sexual depiction women are concerned.)

Though the original printing of Cowboy Kate happened before I was born, it is a book that will stand the test of time (and has) and will be embraced by a whole new generation of photography, beauty and fashion enthusiasts and we feel very lucky to have this book in our collection.

“The Woman in the West” fantasy homage is one of the most creative photo essays I have ever seen and is so impressively imagined and executed that one wonders why this book wasn’t re-issued sooner. Cowboy Kate is a massive work of art, and an example of how rewarding photography as an art form can be, (the full-page image of the boot filled with flowers is as beautiful as any of the narrative pieces starring “Cowboy Kate” and the photo essays at the end of the book are both simplistic and powerful.

Cowboy Kate & Other Stories – The Director’s Cut is a gorgeous time capsule of a book that marks a richly creative work from a photographic artist capable of reminding a whole new generation that art can be anything you want it to be, but most importantly it can be classy, elegant, and sensual without being overt!

This is a book that belongs in every photographer’s library and for those who love imagery and the playfulness and joy of simpler times.

A wonderful, wonderful collection that defies you not to smile as you flip through its pages!

Terry Osterhout
October 2006