Ernst Haas - The Creation and Other Publications

The Creation and Other Publications

Haas was inspired and fascinated by the natural world, took photographs of the elements throughout his career. Inspired in part by his involvement in John Huston’s 1966 film The Bible, Haas conceived an ambitious, multi-year project to visualize the theme of the earth’s creation, as described in a variety of religious texts, primarily in the Old Testament. His book The Creation, first published in 1971, featured 106 color photographs made all over the world, organized into an expressive, poetic sequence. Ultimately The Creation was produced in multiple editions in numerous languages through 1988, selling over 350,000 copies to become one of the best-selling photography books of all time.

Haas also issued the monographs In America (1975), In Germany (1977), and Himalayan Pilgrimage (1978).

In 1980 Haas published a limited-edition portfolio of dye transfer prints from The Creation with Daniel Wolf Press. He also began work on a book devoted to Japan and a project illustrating the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, whose writings inspired him throughout his life.

Posthumous books featuring Haas’ photographs include: Ernst Haas: Color Photographs (1989); Ernst Haas in Black and White (1992); Ernst Haas (Photo Poche), 2010; and Ernst Haas: Color Correction (2011).