In March 2000 Joel Sternfeld began photographing the High Line, an abandoned elevated railway which runs down the
West Side of Manhattan. Sometimes a river of grass, sometimes more like Canadian wheat fields, this unique ruin
permitted Sternfeld to contemplate nature within the city. Walking the path of this true-time landscape, Sternfeld experienced
the seasons as they unfolded in a meandering ribbon within the vertical architecture of New York City, and
he created a suite of images marked by quiet grace and formal rigour. In Walking the High Line, as in all of his work,
landscape is both a social and cultural indicator. In 2009 the High Line was converted into a public park that will preserve
the delights of the High Line for future generations. Sternfeld’s book is thus a unique record of the High Line at
a time when it faced demolition, and this re-print follows several sold-out editions.
A major figure in the photography world, Joel Sternfeld was born in New York City in 1944. He has received numerous
awards including two Guggenheim fellowships, a Prix de Rome and the Citibank Photography Award. Sternfeld’s
books published by Steidl include American Prospects (2003), Sweet Earth (2006), Oxbow Archive (2008) and
First Pictures (2011).
Walking the High Line
von Joel Sternfeld
