A top celebrity portrait photographer, Jill Greenberg has a unique ability to coax powerful emotions out of her subjects - whether human or animal. Her portraits of bears, collected here for the first time, surprise and engage. We encounter cubs as cute as a child's Teddy, grizzlies that look like they might swallow you whole, and Polar bears seated in Sphinx-like tranquility. Full-grown brown bears, grizzlies, black bears, Polar bears, and bear cubs are photographed on location against a portrait backdrop. The poses and facial expressions are at turns oddly comedic, pensive, terrifying, and sometimes unexpectedly human. Alive with Greenberg's signature lighting and seen through the unique perspective of her lens, these startling bear portraits bring us face to face with our fears and fantasies.

Bears hold a unique position in the popular imagination--at one end of the spectrum is the cuddly teddy bear; at the other the terrifying grizzly; in between, the polar bear has become a newly endangered species, a great white symbol of environmental decline. Enter acclaimed celebrity portrait photographer Jill Greenberg to confront our collective fears and fantasies in a remarkable series of bear portraits.

Author of the surprise hit Monkey Portraits, Greenberg is renowned for her highly original visual style. Whether the subject is a pop music diva, a film star, or a chimpanzee, you know a Jill Greenberg photograph when you see it. These bear portraits engage the viewer with a wide range of emotion: cubs as cute as a child's stuffed animal, brown bears that look as if they might swallow you whole, and polar bears seated in sphinxlike tranquillity.