There are too many pictures now. It’s overwhelming. A flood of images that passes by, and says, “Why should we remember anything?” There’s too much to remember now, too much to take in. — Robert Frank, 2004

He never crossed over into celebrity. He’s famous because he made a mark. He collected the world. — Nan Goldin

Robert Frank—who was born in Switzerland but saw the United States with clearer eyes than any native—died yesterday in Inverness, Nova Scotia.

His book The Americans was published just over sixty years ago, and his films include Pull My Daisy (1959), Me and My Brother (1969), Cocksucker Blues (1972, Frank’s little-seen documentary of the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street tour), and Candy Mountain (1987, co-directed with Rudy Wurlitzer).

Top: Fred Stein, Robert Frank, 1954, Fred Stein Archive/Getty Images. Robert Frank, The Americans, from top: Los Angeles, 1956; Funeral, St. Helena, South Carolina, 1955; Drive-in movie, Detroit, 1955; Metropolitan Life Insurance Building, New York City, 1955; 14th Street White Tower, New York, 1948; New York City, 1955; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Detroit River Rouge Plant, 1955; Parade, Hoboken, New Jersey; The Americans cover image, Trolley, New Orleans, 1956, Steidl edition, 2008. Below: Robert Frank, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, 1962; Ronny Jacques, Robert Frank. Images courtesy and © Estate of Robert Frank, Pace-MacGill Gallery, Fotostiftung Schweiz, the portrait photographers, and the agencies.