Dennis Stock: the photographer who made America cool

Here are Dennis Stock’s best images of American life in the time of Woodstock, from stage invasions to Planet of the Apes fanatics, Louis Armstrong gearing up for a gig and an unknown James Dean in Times Square. The images are from American Cool, a new anthology of Stock’s career

Main image: Venice Beach Rock Festival by Dennis Stock Photograph: Magnum Photos

  • For a novice actor in the 50s, Times Square was the place to go, and James Dean haunted the place. The Actors Studio, directed by Lee Strasberg, was in its heyday and just a block away when this photo was taken in New York in 1955
    Dennis Stock: James Dean

  • Louis Armstrong's last moment of concentration in the wings before performing in Philadelphia in 1958
    Dennis Stock: Louis Armstrong

  • Going ape on set in California during the making of the sci-fi film Planet of the Apes, in 1967
    Dennis Stock: Scene during the making of Planet of the Apes, California, 1967

  • Stock had front row seats to the Woodstock generation of the late 60s. At 1968's Venice Beach Rock festival, in California, a concertgoer leapt on stage in front of the photographer, leading to this image
    Dennis Stock: Venice Beach Rock Festival, California, 1968

  • American gothic … Stock's portrait of a couple recreating artist Grant Wood's iconic painting in 1969
    Dennis Stock: USA. 1969. Portrait of a couple in "American Gothic style."

  • Fashion you can bank on at New York City's First National Bank, in 1961
    Dennis Stock: Dennis Stock photograph

  • Bareback couple in Novato, California, 1968
    America cool: Couple in Novato, California, 1968
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