Photos courtesy Peter Fetterman Gallery
Robb Report Collectibles: Emotion on Emulsion: The Photography of Jesse Alexander
February 2, 2004
To look at these photos, and others like them,
is to understand why Reeves Callaway, best known for his ultrahigh-performance,
turbocharged Callaway Corvettes but an avid collector of Alexander’s work in
private life, says: “I think Jesse’s work falls somewhere between Paul Caponigro
and Yousef Karsh—Caponigro because of the high art of his images, and Karsh
because of the portraiture.”
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Alain Prost’s Ferrari leaves its garage at
the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix in this
evocative color image.
(Click image to enlarge) This is more than praise for a friend. “I came to Jesse’s photography from two different vantage points,” Callaway says. “First, I was attracted as a motorsports enthusiast, but I was also trained as a classical black-and-white photographer with a fine arts degree, so when I saw his work, and the Ansel Adams level of execution, I said, ‘this is my guy.’ His images push all the right buttons for me.”
The career that would result in countless magazine articles, two books
(Driven and 40 Years of Motorsports Photography; a third, Porsche Memories is in
preparation for release next Christmas), and a thriving business in
museum-quality prints, began simply. Alexander was drawn into the nascent
sportscar scene of the early 1950s and, after a trip to the 1953 Pan American
Road in Mexico and exposure to British car magazines, decided to pull up stakes
and move to Europe, the better to indulge his love of racing.
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Phil Hill celebrates his first Formula One victory at Monza, Italy. One year
later, he would be crowned World Champion at the same track. (Click image to enlarge)Armed with
nothing more than a 35mm Leica camera “with a couple of lenses” and, later, a
medium-format Rolleiflex, the self-taught photographer quickly made a name
for himself as an exceptionally able reporter. Over the next decade, recognition
of his artistry grew as well, and continues to this day.
A selection of
Alexander’s best black-and-white and color images is available to collectors
through the Peter Fetterman Galleries in Santa Monica, Calif.; New York City;
Birmingham, Michigan; Dallas; and London.
Peter Fetterman Gallery
www.peterfetterman.com
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