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Artworks
Philippe HalsmanMarilyn Monroe, ca. 1959Gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1959
Artist copyright stamp with annotations: "Marilyn jumped over hundred times and tore her dress completely" and "Photographed for Life for cover try on Nov 1959" on verso13 3/4 x 10 3/4 in. (34.9 x 27.3 cm)(BSG 43)***PHILIPPE HALSMAN (Latvian-American, 1906 - 1979)
Philippe Halsman was a Latvian-American photographer, best known for his high-contrast, eccentric portraits of significant figures.
Halsman was born in Riga, Russian Empire (present-day Latvia) in 1906. He studied electrical engineering in Dresden before moving to Paris where he set up his first photography studio. In Paris, Halsman photographed and collaborated with several prominent artists, including Le Corbusier and Marc Chagall. He escaped Europe during the Nazi invasion with the help of his friend Albert Einstein and established a studio in New York to continue his portraiture practice. While living in New York, Halsman created and released his renowned photobook Jump, with which he photographed several prolific personalities jumping in an attempt to capture them at an unguarded moment. Halsman’s work was also featured in numerous publications, including Vogue and Life. Today his work can be found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, among others.
