This title is a remarkable story told through Todd Webb's journal entries. Webb's association with Alfred Stieglitz was an intimate one, as his was with Berenice Abbot, Beaumont Newhall, Harry and Eleanor Callahan (housemates), Georgia O'Keefe, and others. 1946 was an auspicious year that saw the deaths of Stieglitz, Gertrude Stein, Joseph Stella, Arthur Dove, and Moholy-Nagy. This is a rare look into New York, the life of Webb, and those in his circle that have defined the standard for a great photograph, then and now.

The first entry in Todd Webb: New York, 1946:

Journal, “The War Years.” On August 6 [1945] I was on the train going back to camp in Rhode Island to prepare for my return overseas. While on the train to New York, I heard a report that a strange bomb had been dropped on Japan, causing tremendous damage and taking many lives.

I stayed in New York a few days and had several good visits with Stieglitz. I had written to him from New Guinea and he had sent me letters which were wonderful
for me. He was delighted to see me and we had some good talks. While I was there the second atom bomb fell on Japan and it was clear that the war was winding down. I returned to Rhode Island and two weeks later the war was over and my orders to return overseas were cancelled. I joined the hundreds of thousands of men waiting to be discharged from the services. Not being married and without dependents, I had to wait until November 11, 1945.

While I was waiting in Rhode Island, the Callahans had moved to New York into a
small apartment on 123rd Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam. During several
weekend visits, we discussed my staying with them after my discharge. Harry had brought my 5x7 Deardorff with him, along with most of the belongings I had left in Detroit. So I was soon established.

That was really the beginning of my career as a photographer. I spent considerable
time trying to find some 5x7 film. All photographic materials were scarce in those days shortly after the end of the war. . . . Early in December I was able to buy a few boxes of 5x7 cut film, and I was ready to begin my post-war civilian career as a photographer in New York.

(www.toddwebbphotographs.com)