Philippe Halsman

This massive retrospective volume profiles the work of Philippe Halsman, one of the world’s most revered photographers. Salvador Dali’s flamboyant moustache, Richard Nixon jumping in the West Wing, Grace Kelly’s amazing profile—these are just a few of the images that achieved iconic status and helped make photographer Philippe Halsman an icon in his own right.

Comprising hundreds of photographs and insightful accompanying texts, this volume explores Halsman’s oeuvre in a variety of aspects. It examines his early career exhibiting works at the avant-garde La Pleiade Gallery in Paris; his experiments with portraiture, particularly the series of stunning images of Marilyn Monroe and his more than 100 covers for Life magazine; his pictures of the contemporary art scene that include famous dancers, movie stars, stage actors, and musicians and the birth of his "jumpology" concept; and his unique, 30-year collaboration with Salvador Dali, including a book devoted entirely to the artist’s moustache.

Anyone interested in portraiture, celebrity, or performance will marvel at the breadth and magnificence of Halsman’s work, which is definitively presented in this beautiful volume.

Unknown Halsman reveals an overlooked, playful and bizarre side of Philippe Halsman, one of the most innovative photographers of the twentieth century. Most previous publications on Halsman feature his iconic portraiture, which appeared on the cover of Life and other top American magazines from the 40s through the 70s. He is also remembered for his groundbreaking Surrealist photo collaborations with Salvador Dali.

Edited by his grandson Oliver Halsman Rosenberg (who has spent the past two years organizing the archive and discovering the depth of the celebrated photographer's unpublished oeuvre), most of the images in this distinctive volume--which include private and experimental photographs, decontextualized advertisements, outtakes from famous sittings, contact sheets and family snapshots--have never been seen as a body of work in their own right. One of Philippe Halsman's many aphorisms, "The way a photographer sees is an extension of his character," is apt; these photographs not only capture his character, they bring to life the essence of his era.

Oliver Halsman Rosenberg, also an artist, has lent his graphic sense to this publication, creating a uniquely designed and sequenced monograph that is both colorful and spirited. Intermingled with 100 fine reproductions of Halsman's photographs are numerous quotes by the photographer as well as luminaries like Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau, Martha Graham and Alfred Hitchcock. All quotes are hand illustrated by Oliver Halsman Rosenberg in a unique brush font that is inspired by Japanese calligraphy and hand-made zines.

Contributing to the well-considered and intimate feel of this publication are the use of yellow throughout the book, inspired by a wall in Halsman's former photo studio; the blue floral endpapers, which were taken from the fabric of Halsman's couch; and the use of a typewriter font that evokes the correspondence found during the archiving process. Oliver Halsman Rosenberg also contributes an illustrated essay. A major European multi-venue retrospective is in the works for 2009-2010.

From inside dust jacket: One of the greatest portrait photographers of this century, Philippe Halsman is celebrated in this long-awaited retrospective. During a career that spanned more than forty years, virtually every leading personality in the arts and many world figures sat for Philippe Halsman's camera.

From the well-known, deeply penetrating portrait of Albert Einstein to previously unpublished images of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and others, Philippe Halsman: A Retrospective is a comprehensive look at a true master of photography. Mary Panzer, curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, contributes an insightful introduction on Halsman's outstanding career. Excerpts from is writings and an illustrated chronology of Halsman's life and work complete this moving tribute.

Illustrious sitters jump as their photograph was taken, and the photographer reflects on the jumpers and non-jumpers.