A dazzling, sensuous celebration of color and form by the photographer whom Architectural Digest described as "the love child of Georgia O'Keeffe and Robert Mapplethorpe."<br> <br> "When I agreed to write an essay for Beane's book," recounts Anthony F. Janson, esteemed curator and professor, "I had no idea I would be writing about one of the greatest photographers I have ever run across. It was easy enough for me to locate his position in the history of photography and art as a whole. I saw its importance immediately. Such an approach hardly begins to meet the challenge of explaining his work." <br><br> With intensity, vision, and expressiveness Christopher Beane captures the beauty, and the bizarre, of the botanical. He concentrates on the overlooked detail: the veins of dehydrated petals, the textures of poppy stamens, the infinite compositions vines create, and the multiple layers that constitute a ranunculus. In 150 photographs, Flower explores the precious and perishable nature of flowers—seed pods burst open, withered leaves curl, and frilly petals unfurl. Anthony F. Janson contributes a rich and engaging overview of the core ideas that define Beane's art, offering the reader a context for thinking about this unique work, while he chronicles its development.<br> <br> A thing of beauty, <i>Flower</i> is the gift book everyone will welcome—a testament to the remarkable talent of Christopher Beane and his passionate vision.