Annie Leibovitz' New SUMO Book Spans an Astounding 40-Year Career in 476 Pages

Annie Leibovitz' New SUMO Book Spans an Astounding 40-Year Career in 476 Pages

The most expensive and largest book project of the 20th century was Helmut Newton's SUMO, which sold out at $15,000 per copy, complete with its own book stand (the book is about as big as a medium-sized seven-year-old). Now, Annie Leibovitz' SUMO follows in its footsteps. At 476 pages, the Taschen-published art piece comes enveloped in your choice of four different dust jackets and is limited to 10,000 editioned copies, with the first 1000 coming in a leather-bound hardcover with a signed 20" x 20" archival pigment print and all four dust jackets.

Leibovitz' legacy famously began in 1970 with her stint at then-fledgling Rolling Stone Magazine, just barely a few years old. Going on to photograph and eventually tour with The Rolling Stones and countless other world-famous acts of the time (though let's face it, the British invasion is what really got the attention of her camera), Leibovitz built a career for herself that has earned her the place of the most sought-after contemporary commercial photographer.

Her intimate interactions with hundreds of Hollywood's most beloved and recognizable talents lend themselves to coverage in such a visual epic that this SUMO-sized book certainly is. Complete with a stand for the book designed by Marc Newson, a signed archival pigment print (Keith Haring (contact sheet), New York City, 1986), and all four dust jackets featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Berkeley, California, 1984; Keith Haring, New York City, 1986; David Byrne, Los Angeles, 1986; and Patti Smith, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1978, the leather-bound Art Edition, numbered 1-1000, is now available from Taschen for $5,000. The following 9,000 editions are available without the signed print and with a choice of one dust jacket for $2,500.

 

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Adam works mostly across California on all things photography and art. He can be found at the best local coffee shops, at home scanning film in for hours, or out and about shooting his next assignment. Want to talk about gear? Want to work on a project together? Have an idea for Fstoppers? Get in touch! And, check out FilmObjektiv.org film rentals!

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3 Comments

Im waiting for smaller version :) Maybe will be like Helmut Newton SUMO.

This is a spectacular book. If you're in NYC, you can see it at the Taschen store in Soho.

That's the kind of book one never will get.
Cheers Annie