Catherine DeLattre - The Great Wide Open
Setanta Books 2026 Catherine DeLattre’s photographic work is characterized by quiet observation, stillness, and what can be described as “empathetic neutrality.” Alongside her career as a film still photographer, she has developed a practice focused on vernacular subjects: barns, vehicles, homes, and roadside elements in rural landscapes. Her images present these scenes without intervention, inviting viewers to find emotional meaning through attentive looking and an awareness of time passing. Originally from Pennsylvania, DeLattre discovered photography while studying archaeology at Kent State University, where a required course led her to pursue the medium more seriously. She later studied at Purdue University, where she shifted from black-and-white to color photography under the influence of figures such as William Eggleston and Stephen Shore. After teaching in Maine and New York, she moved to New York City in 1979, working at the International Center of Photography and photographing everyday urban life with a similarly observational approach. Today, dividing her time between New York City and rural Pennsylvania, DeLattre documents landscapes shaped by human presence. Though her work shares the visual restraint of New Topographics, it departs from its detachment, offering instead a humanist, empathetic engagement with place and a subtle reflection on belonging. Hardback 240 x 240 mm 96 pages 62 images Essay by Cay Sophie Rabinowitz