Imogen The Mother of Modernism and Three Boys

Imogen’s family didn’t have much, and life was hard atop the wild hill they call home. But when Imogen declared she wanted to be a photographer, her father built her her very own darkroom. Flash forward. Imogen is a photographer and a mother. She has her hands full! How does she do it all? She turns the garden into a wonderland for her three growing boys and a workshop for herself. While she works, her boys play, and Imogen photographs them. Click. Click. Click. Photographing her sons leads Imogen to focus on plants and flowers—most notably her signature magnolia blossoms—for which she will become best known. Here, then, is the story of Imogen Cunningham, one of the finest photographers of the 20th century and mother to three boys.

Amy Novesky is an award-winning children’s book author. Her picture books include ELEPHANT PRINCE; ME, FRIDA; and GEORGIA IN HAWAII. She lives with her family just north of San Francisco. Illustrator and fine artist Lisa Congdon was raised in both upstate New York and Northern California where she grew to love the trees and wildlife that surrounded her. That love is now expressed through her colorful paintings and drawings. She is a prolific collector of old and unusual things, including bits of nature, and surrounds herself with these things in her home and studio. She lives and works in San Francisco.