Before the days of blogs and entire Instagram accounts dedicated to the wonderful world of food — documenting food was left to professional photographers, who, through careful decision making and curating captured the culinary delights for cookbooks, advertisments, and art.
Just as food consumption has changed over the years, so has the way societies plate, present, and document food.
In the new book, Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography, author Susan Bright explores chronologically the way food has been photographed since the 19th century with over 200 photographs. Ahead, 15 stunning images from the book that show how drastically food photography has shifted since then.
Courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum, London
William Louis Henry Skeen, Still Life of Exotic Fruits and Lizard from Ceylon, Colombo, Sri Lanka, ca. 1880; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
Courtesy George Eastman Museum, gift of 3m Foundation, ex-collection of Louis Walton Sipley
William H. Martin, The Modern Farmer, 1909; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
Courtesy Amatörfotografklubben i Helsingfors rf, Finland
Wladimir Schohin, Stilleben, 1910; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
Courtesy The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Russell Lee, Serving Pinto Beans at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair barbecue, 1940; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
© Nickolas Muray Photo Archives, Courtesy George Eastman Museum, gift of Mrs. Nickolas Muray
Nickolas Muray, Lemonade and Fruit Salad, McCall's magazine, ca. 1943; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
© Nickolas Muray Photo Archives, Courtesy George Eastman Museum, gift of Mrs. Nickolas Muray
Nickolas Muray, Food Spread, Daffodils, McCall's magazine, ca. 1946; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
© Victor Keppler, Courtesy George Eastman Museum, gift of Victor Keppler
Victor Keppler, (General Mills advertising campaign -- Apple Pyequick), 1947; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
© 2010 MIT, Courtesy MIT Museum
Harold Edgerton, Milk Drop Coronet, 1957; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
© Stephen Shore, Courtesy 303 Gallery, New York
Stephen Shore, Trails End Restaurant, Kanab, Utah, August 10, 1973; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
© Jo Ann Callis, Courtesy Rose Gallery Santa Monica
Jo Ann Callis, Black Table Cloth, 1979; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
© Martin Parr/Magnum Photos
Martin Parr, Untitled (Hot Dog Stand), 1983 -- 85; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
© Tim Walker
Tim Walker, Self-Portrait with Eighty Cakes, 2008; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
Courtesy of Laura Letinsky, and Yancey Richard Gallery, NYC
Untitled #49, 2002, from the series Hardly More Than Ever; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
Courtesy of Lorenzo Vitturi
Lorenzo Vitturi, Red #1, 2013, from the series Dalston Anatomy; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
Courtesy of Grant Cornett
Grant Cornett, Jello Disco Floor, 2016, for Gather Journal, food styling by Janine Iversen; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)
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