Anastasia Samoylova, Fifth-Generation Farmer, Garysburg, North Carolina, 2024; from Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025). © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova

Inspired by great artists before her, Russian-American Anastasia Samoylova took a photographic journey along the historic U.S. Route 1 — beginning in her home state of Florida and ending in Maine.

In 1954, the American photographer Berenice Abbott set out to document the historic US Route 1, predicting seismic changes to small towns and major cities along the road brought by the rapidly expanding Interstate Highway System. Inspired by Abbott’s acute and poetic observations of life along Route 1, Samoylova retraced Abbott’s trip seventy years later.

Samoylova’s photographs explore the enduring impact of Route 1 as a corridor of commerce, migration, and myth, revealing how the American landscape continues to be shaped by infrastructure, ideology, and illusion. The trip resulted in the monograph Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast

Older woman in a pink fringed jacket and wide-brim hat stands in profile under a clear blue sky, eyes closed and face lifted toward the sun; a blurred palm tree is in the background.Anastasia Samoylova, Woman in Pink Hat, Homestead, Florida, 2025; from Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025). © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova A white car is parked in front of a house with a porch and palm tree. Behind it, a tall building displays a large sign reading “JESUS SAVES.” Green trees frame the scene.Anastasia Samoylova, Jesus Saves, Charleston, South Carolina, 2020; from Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025). © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova Two vintage cars, one cream and one brown, are parked on a street in front of a tall brick apartment building with many windows. Trees and a blue sky with some clouds are also visible.Anastasia Samoylova, Two Cars, East Harlem, New York, 2024; from Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025). © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova
Weathered, abandoned two-story building with peeling paint, broken and boarded-up windows, overgrown grass, and a faded red metal roof, situated near a river with a bridge in the background under a cloudy sky.Anastasia Samoylova, House by Water, Lubec, Maine, 2024; from Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025). © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova A map of eastern North America showing a red line route starting in southern Florida, passing through cities like Jacksonville, Charlotte, Washington, New York, and ending in Montreal, Canada.U.S. Route One. | Wikipedia

Samoylova’s journey as an artist runs parallel to that of Robert Frank, whose legendary book, The Americans, defined a new visual language of cultural critique and disillusionment. Like Frank, Samoylova immigrated to the United States at the age of 23, drawn to the contradictions and promises of American life.

Atlantic Coast picks up Frank’s visual thread in a country further fragmented by environmental crisis, political nostalgia, and unchecked development, adding a distinctive chapter to a storied lineage of photographers.

A person stands behind a large American flag, which partially obscures their figure, in front of a building with white columns and shuttered windows. The image is in black and white.Anastasia Samoylova, House Flag, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 2024; from Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025). © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova A woman in vintage clothing, including a blue dress, white collar, and patterned apron, stands behind the counter of an old-fashioned shop with glass display trays and shelves of retro products behind her.Anastasia Samoylova, Historic Reenactor, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 2024; from Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025). © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova A room with a table holding a clear plastic cup of water and a red apple; through an open window, colorful fireworks light up the night sky over a body of water with boats.Anastasia Samoylova, Fireworks, Fort Knox, Prospect, Maine, 2024; from Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025). © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova
A vintage yellow wooden house with peeling paint has a weathered awning over a classic car parked in front, partially covered by a blue tarp. Lush greenery and another old house appear in the background.Anastasia Samoylova, Covered Car, Waycross, Georgia, 2024; from Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025). © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova A book cover with a red car interior and palm tree reflections on the windshield. Title: "ATLANTIC COAST." Author: "ANASTASIA SAMOYLOVA." The publisher's logo, "aperture," appears in the corner.Front cover of Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast (Aperture, 2025); cover image: Anastasia Samoylova, Reflection in Black Thunderbird, Palm Beach, Florida, 2024. © 2025 Anastasia Samoylova

Samoylova works in the intersections of environmentalism, consumerism, politics, and the picturesque. The book features vibrant color and black-and-white photographs that draw on the visual vernacular of tourism, advertising, and the road trip itself.

Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast is published by Aperture and will be released on November 18, 2025; $65. The release coincides with two of Samoylova’s solo exhibitions of the same title opening at the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL on November 15 as well as an exhibition at Dot Fiftyone Gallery in Miami, FL opening on November 30.