Scott Mead: Rites of Passage - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 090369672X ISBN 13: 9780903696722

Publisher: Hurtwood Press, 2026

Synopsis

Taken over a five-year period between 1971 and 1976, Scott Mead’s black-and-white photographs of New England, USA, explore scenes of discovery, ritual, rural beauty and urban metropolis.

In Rites of Passage, photographer Scott Mead revisits his formative years in New England, USA. Taken over a five-year period between 1971 and 1976, the black-and-white photographs explore scenes of discovery, ritual, rural beauty and urban metropolis.

Situated somewhere between an American road trip and a personal visual diary, Mead’s images capture a world as it was then, shaped by political upheaval, profound civil change and the Cold War. The tensions embedded in these photographs resonate today amid a fraught social landscape and increasing polarisation. Recent global events prompted Mead to reflect deeply as he explored his photographic archive.

This clothbound hardback book features 100 large-format prints of Mead’s poignant work. Shot on 35mm black-and-white film, the images portray life in a time of transition, drawing the viewer’s eyes into their atmospheric compositions and rich textures. Rites of Passage presents Mead’s delicate, often amusing and sometimes uneasy portraits alongside cityscapes, landscapes and snapshots of the lives of friends and strangers.

About this title

About the Author

Scott Mead was born in Washington, DC, in 1954 and lives in London. He was a photographer for fifteen years until family and career intervened. After many years working in investment banking, Mead left the industry in 2003 to return to his lifelong passion for photography. In 2018, Mead’s work Above the Clouds was exhibited at Hamiltons Gallery, London. His book of the same name was published by Prestel in 2017. In 2022, Prestel published his second book Equivalents, an exploration of parallels and contrasts, featuring an introduction by Brad Leithauser.

From the Back Cover

Photographer Scott Mead, born in 1954 in Washington, D.C., revisits his formative years spent documenting New England, USA, in Rites of Passage for the first time. Shot over a five-year period between 1971 and 1976, we follow Mead through early adulthood and explore scenes of discovery, ritual, rural beauty and urban metropolis.

At a junction between an American road trip and a personal visual diary, Mead's images depict a world as it was then, shaped by political upheaval, profound civil changes and the Cold War. The tensions embedded in these photographs resonate now amid a fraught social landscape and increasing polarisation. Recent global events gave Mead the opportunity for intense self-reflection as he delved into his photographic archive.

The clothbound hardback book features 100 large-format prints of Mead's poignant photographs to be considered in a new context. The 35mm black and white images portray life in a time of transition as the viewer's eyes are drawn into the atmospheric imagery, compositions and textures captured within them. Rites of Passage shows Mead with a camera always at hand and presents his delicate, often amusing and sometimes uneasy portraits alongside cityscapes, landscapes and snapshots of the lives of friends and strangers.

All of the artist's proceeds from Rites of Passage benefit Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hurtwood Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 090369672X
• ISBN 13: 9780903696722
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176
• Editor: Stehman Ira