The exhibition of Walker Evans photographs at the UBS Gallery offers an intriguing opportunity to appreciate the evolution of photographic printmaking, using the work of a great master as the testing ground.

Curated by John T. Hill and Sven Martson for the Yale University School of Art, the show explores a definitive two-year period in Walker Evan's career and a significant moment in American history. The images on display were shot by Evans when he was documenting the effects of the Great Depression in the rural South for the Farm Services Administration from 1935 to 1936. This was Evans' greatest single body of work, which was published in book form as "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men," in collaboration with the writer James Agee.

Although Evans created these images in a relatively short period of time, the prints on display were created at different times during his 40-year career - and posthumously as well. From rare vintage prints made by Evans or under his direct supervision, to the digital interpretations made by Hill and Martson, the prints offer a history of photographic printing processes from the Modern age until now.

Most of these images, considered to be some of his most celebrated works, were selected by Evans for two of his most important books, for two limited-edition portfolios, or for his retrospective exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in 1938 and 1971. This editing choice adds a heightened sense that the selection is a valid one - especially when viewing the limited edition prints that bear Evans' signature and handwritten notes.

Evans was considered a modernist partly because he chose to have his images mass-produced in books and magazines for the most part, rather than seen as exquisite prints temporarily installed in museums. Many of the photographs in this exhibit were owned, developed, and printed by the FSA, not by the photographer, who mailed his unprocessed film to the agency. Evans became accustomed early in his career to directing others to make his prints; he felt that his time was better spent behind the lens than in a darkroom.

For that reason, there are comparatively few prints made during Evans' lifetime, which increases their value exponentially. In fact, "Penny Picture Display, Savannah," 1936 (top left) sold for $197,900 in 2003, setting a world auction record for the artist. This image is included in the UBS show, both as a vintage 8 x 10 contact print and as a contemporary ink-jet print, greatly enlarged. "Alabama Cotton Tenant Farmer's Wife," 1936 (bottom left), is seen in several versions, from the poster-size image announcing the exhibit to a vintage contact print. In many cases, the organizers have made digital prints in roughly the same size as the vintage contact prints, which allows comparison of variations in print quality from one process to the next.

The curators' stated mission was to interpret the work using the newest printing technology available. They also allow that the use of digital printing, in particular, the creation of oversized prints of incredible brilliance and detail also make possible "remarkable mischief" in the interpretation.

This exhibition, visually stunning and beautifully installed, will likely serve to extend the debate on the nature of photography in the digital age as it introduces new viewers to Walker Evans.

Walker Evans: Carbon and Silver

UBS Gallery

1285 Avenue of the Americas (212) 713-2885

Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Through November 17, 2006

Read Michael Kimmelman's review in The New York Times.