Table of Contents

Introduction Beth Moon 7 Adapted to Endure: The Form and Function of Ancient Trees Todd Forrest 9 Plates Great Britain 17 United States 42 Israel 54 Socotra 56 Southern Africa 63 Cambodia 76 Captions 80 Eternity in Present Tense: Beth Moon and the Art of the Tree Steven Brown 97 Acknowledgements 101 Index of Trees 103

About the Author

“Time, memory and the natural world are the central motifs that underlie the photographic work of Beth Moon. Whether she is recording majestic, ancient trees for the Portraits of Time series, or capturing our oldest and largest trees under the light of stars in the series, Diamond Nights, Moon reveals a magical and intuitive appreciation for the ways in which time, memory and nature define our understanding of man’s place in the universe.”

Moon has gained international recognition for her large-scale, richly toned platinum photographs. Since 1999, her work has appeared in more than 60 one-person and group exhibitions in the United States, Italy, England, France, Israel, Brazil, Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia, and has received critical acclaim in numerous national and international fine art publications.

Her prints are held in public collections such as The Museum of Fine Art Houston, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego and the Fox Talbot Museum (UK), and The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Bolzano, Italy.

In 2013, the first monograph of Moon's work was published by Charta Art Books in Italy. In 2014, Abbeville Press published Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time, and in 2015, Galerie Vevais, published a fine-art edition, La Langue Verte. Abbeville Press released a follow up title in 2016, Ancient Skies, Ancient Trees.

Beth studied fine art at the University of Wisconsin before moving to England, where she experimented with alternative processes and learned to print with platinum. She currently lives on the east coast outside of New York City.

Reviews

“Beth Moon’s stunning images capture the power and mystery of the world’s remaining ancient trees… Beth’s portraits will surely inspire many to help those working to save these magnificent trees.” - Dr. Jane Goodall

“Moon wields time as a tool. She typically photographs a tree over many sessions, ideally over several days... The platinum lends a luminous quality to the leaves—an echo of their function, to eat sunlight—and a leaden, indestructible weight to the trunks.” - Robert Moor, Sierra

“Showcases towering redwoods, broccoli-shaped baobabs and gnarled trunks growing out of ancient temples.” - The Wall Street Journal

“Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time is well named. One cannot look at Beth Moon's images of gnarled, overgrown trees and not feel the intrinsic gravity of time.” - Printers Row Journal, Chicago Tribune

“In our age of mass species extinctions, we never know from where, if anywhere, consolation may come. Try looking at Beth Moon's new book, Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time.” - San Francisco Chronicle

“Full of strangest and most magnificent trees ever.” - The Telegraph

“[Moon] creates magical images that in their blacks and whites, silvers and grays, capture the marvel of arboreal forms and textures… [a] jewel of a book.” - Booklist, Starred Review

“Trees are notoriously hard to photograph, but Moon captures their individuality with reverent portrayal. . . these are lavish, awe-inspiring pictures. . . Crossing with ease between realms of natural history and art, this will appeal to all with even the mildest horticultural or photographic interests.” - Library Journal

“A project with weight and lasting beauty. . . Ancient Trees provides the kind of thorough and thoughtful portrait that each of these majestic long-lived survivors deserves.” - Christian Science Monitor

Beth Moon will be in the upcoming HBO documentary "Trees & Other Entanglements" which premieres on 12/12/23 in the USA. - HBO on YouTube trailer