“Bill Brandt, A Sense of Wonder”

Ansel Adams was a nature photographer. Dorothea Lange was a photojournalist. Julian Mandel was a fine photographer of nudes. Bill Brandt, the subject of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s retrospective “Bill Brandt, A Sense of Wonder,” was known for his excellence in all three genres and more.

Out of all the greats of 20th-century photography, Brandt seems to most transcend subject matter and classification. He started out capturing the grime and grit of British industry and the horrors and triumphs of World War II. He then moved on to the English countryside, specializing in places associated with great novels and novelists. In his last well-known series, he focused on the intricacies of the human body.

By the time the ‘60s rolled around, he’d developed a distinct style of silvery images and unusual perspective points. The MFAH shows off the full gamut of his talents from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 12:15 to 7 p.m. Sundays. Through April 27. 1001 Bissonnet. For tickets and information, call 713-639-7771 or visit www.mfah.org. $8 to $17.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Feb. 2. Continues through April 27, 2008