A fascinating journey through the self-reflexive and conceptually-inflected documentary photography of the 20th century, with plenty of surprises alongside the well-known landmarks.

Twenty years ago, at the Basel Art Fair, Astrid Ullens bought a photograph by Brancusi, more or less on the spur of the moment. This proved to be the first step in the formation of an impressive collection that today comprises more than 5,000 photographs, some by such renowned figures as Lewis Baltz, Lee Friedlander, Helen Levitt and Walker Evans, others by young photographers like Francesco Neri, Georges Senga, Massao Mascaro and Tarrah Krajnak.

This substantial volume provides an excellent introduction to the collection of Ullens' Fondation A Stichting, with more than 100 photographers plentifully represented in no fewer than 2,000 images. In doing so, it takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the self-reflexive and conceptually-inflected documentary photography of the 20th century, with plenty of surprises alongside the well-known landmarks. It also offers a portrait of a cohort of photographers who still, in one way or another, have sought to give the viewer a better understanding of the world, of nature, mankind, society, and photography itself.

As well as the images and brief entries on each photographer, the book includes several essays by scholars and others, among them curator Urs Stahel, author and journalist Guy Duyplat, and photographers Nicholas Nixon, Judith Joy Ross and Jim Goldberg. An indispensable volume for all lovers of photography, SAGA is to be published to coincide with the exhibition When Images Learn To Speak at Les Rencontres d'Arles in the summer of 2024.