This book presents over five decades of Clara Gutsche’s photographic practice. Her journey in the photographic arts began in 1970 when she moved to Montreal from St. Louis and purchased a 35mm camera. Initially, Gutsche used photography to map and understand her new city and neighborhood. By 1972, she had embraced a new 4×5 view camera, a choice that would define her artistic style for decades. Gutsche’s work often explores personal relationships, urban landscapes, architecture, and cultural values, with a focus on the realities behind appearances; in her words, “Whether I photograph people or uninhabited spaces, I attempt to map the inner landscape of emotions as well as describe specific places.” Notable series include “Milton Park” (1970–73), which aimed to save a threatened Montreal neighborhood; “Convents” (1990–2009), a deep dive into communities of nuns in Quebec; and commissions to document both crumbling industrial infrastructure and the construction of Montreal’s famed Canadian Centre for Architecture founded by Phyllis Lambert.

Co-published with Scotiabank Photography Award, Toronto