My Florence

“Florence Shay was a force to be reckoned with, a marvelous, witty, beautiful and well-read lady whose husband Art loved her very much and took some pictures of her that pierce my heart: there she is, glorious Florence. I miss her (and her book shop, too). Art Shay’s photographs bring us into their family, so immediately and warmly that it is a little shocking and quite wonderful.”

– Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife

“The photographs in Shay’s latest collection portray his late wife’s brimming effervescence in . . . [a] spirit of reverence and love”

– Amy Danzer, New City

“In 'My Florence' we encounter [Florence] pregnant with her first child, and later beaming proudly with their baby daughter Jane in her arms. We see her bringing home their youngest, Steve, greeted by three of their four children at home. . . . [I]t seems that for Art Shay the past really is prologue and continues to be present in the life of this prolific, insightful photographer.”

– Dorothy Andries, Chicago Tribune

“The golden age of photojournalism may be long past, but the work of its giants . . . continues to amaze and inspire. Many Chicagoans may not realize that one of those giants, Art Shay, still walks among us. . . . These are . . . poignant images [of Florence] . . . vivacious and flirty in Las Vegas, hard at work at her book shop, in the latter stages of terminal illness.”

– Kevin Nance, Crain's Chicago Business