Portraits: The Human Clay

American photographer Lee Friedlander (b. 1934) has had an expansive career, photographing his subjects—from family and friends to political figures and celebrities—in their everyday environments, while simultaneously changing the very landscape of his chosen media. The Human Clay is a new series of six publications to be released over three years, each of which focuses on images of people and features hundreds of photographs, many never before published, chosen and sequenced by the artist himself from his vast archive.

Portraits presents over 300 photographs of the musicians, authors, artists, and more that Friedlander has met over the last four decades. Many of the images show prominent figures, including artists Maya Lin and Walker Evans, in private spaces—unguarded in living rooms and kitchens, captured in conversation or an embrace. In others, celebrities such as Fats Domino and Derek Jeter are surrounded by the trappings of fame.