Alexey Brodovitch (1898-1971) is a legend among graphic designers. A Russian who fled the Bolshevik Revolution to settle eventually in Paris and then New York, Brodovitch was one of the pioneers of graphic design in the twentieth century. Brodovitch was Art Director of Harper's Bazaar for over two decades (1934-58); he designed and produced several exquisite and highly collectable books with collaborators such as Richard Avedon and André Kertész; he was a talented photographer himself; and, through an informal class called the Design Lab in New York, he trained a younger generation of photographers and designers who went on to become famous artists and art directors in their own right. This book is a comprehensive monograph on Brodovitch's life and work, drawing from interviews with a wide spectrum of colleagues and collaborators - and assimilating previously unpublished material from archives and private collections around the world - to offer an in-depth analysis and appreciation of Brodovitch's unique and lasting contribution to the visual arts. It's the most comprehensive monograph in print on Alexey Brodovitch's life and work. The book highlights Brodovitch's major achievements as Art Director of Harper's Bazaar, his collaboration with Richard Avedon and André Kertész, and his role as educator to a young generation of photographers and designers. Draws on interviews with a wide range of colleagues and collaborators. The volume includes rare, previously unpublished material from archives and private collections around the world and reproduces in full the three photography books designed by Brodovitch, including the extremely rare Ballet, and three issues of Portfolio magazine, a much-heralded journal that is now a cult collectable.