Horst Portraits: 60 Years of Style [Hardcover]

Terence Pepper (Author), Horst P. Horst (Author), Charles Saumarez Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0810941635 | ISBN-13: 978-0810941632 | Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Horst P. Horst's images are the essence of elegance. Glamorous and sexy, they capture the celebrity and style of the 20th century. In this, the first book devoted specifically to Horst's portraits, 170 full-page photographs immortalize the actors and artists, designers and models, royalty and socialites who sat for him during his 60-year career. Coco Chanel, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Gertrude Stein, Salvador Dali, Steve McQueen, Noel Coward, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Calvin Klein are just a few of those pictured. Culled from private collections as well as from the archives of American, British, and French Vogue, a number have never before been published. Horst Portraits includes an informative introduction, extensive notes on both the subjects and the sittings, and a complete chronology.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Horst's photographic career spanned from 1931 to 1991. The son of a hardware store owner in eastern Germany, Horst found his way to Paris, where he became the assistant to George Hoyningen-Huene, chief photographer for Paris Vogue. Largely self-taught, Horst began publishing fashion photos in Vogue fewer than two years later and eventually established the style of sophisticated posing and dramatic lighting that would make him famous. In this book, published to accompany an exhibit that originated at the National Portrait Gallery and is currently at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Pepper (curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery) and Muir (former picture editor for British Vogue) offer Horst's images of the leading figures in the arts, movies, and society that have become the very pictures most often associated with these famous faces. Included are portraits of Noel Coward, Cecil Beaton, Katharine Hepburn, Gertrude Stein, Salvador Dali, and others, as well as many famous fashion models. A biographical essay traces Horst's life and influences. Notes on the plates describe the sitter, photographic session, and other interesting details that enrich the images. The reproductions are particularly fine. Recommended for collections in the history of fashion, photography, and fine arts. Kathleen Collins, Bank of America Corporate Archives, San Francisco
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Exhibition Schedule: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Oct. 21, 2001-Jan. 6, 2002

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810941635
• ISBN-13: 978-0810941632
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,403,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elegant, Stylized Classical Portraiture, September 21, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Horst Portraits: 60 Years of Style (Hardcover)

Horst P. Horst was at the top of his game as a photographer for a career that spanned 60 years. The key to his appeal lies in a sound foundation in portraiture composition of the sort that the great painting masters used. To this, he added echoes of form, sensuous light and shadow, and a frequent ability to catch people at their best. While I find his faces often over or under lit for my taste, this book contains dozens of virtually flawless images that you will cherish. One of the nice elements of the book is that Mr. Horst was adept at color photography, as well as black-and-white. The book contains 130 duotone images and 20 in full color. His subjects are usually actors, models, fashion designers, and artists. The three Vogues (American, British, and French) were his most frequent employers. The volume is greatly improved by an introduction that explains how his career developed and his relationship with other photographers and magazine editors. I thought the detailed captions for the photographs were very interesting and impressive, giving the volume a depth that most fine photography books lack. The quality of the book, paper, reproduction, and design are all superb. This show will open in Boston in mid-October, and I plan to see it then!

Here are a few of my favorite images: Noel Coward, 1933; Coco Chanel, 1937; Deanna Durbin, 1936; Ethel Waters, 1939; Lud, 1938; Janet Gaynor and her husband Adrian, 1940; Merle Oberon, 1942; Salvador Dali, 1943; Muriel Maxwell, 1940; Loretta Young, 1943; Lisa Foussagrives, 1940; Gloria Vanderbilt, 1941; Carmen Dell'Orefice, 1947; Lady Diana Cooper, 1946; Rita Hayworth, 1947; Tallulah Bankhead, 1940s; Carlos Chavez, 1946; Irving Penn, 1951; Lucie Bose, 1952; Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and her sister Lee Radziwell, 1955; Maria Callas, 1952; Franco Zeffirelli, 1964; W.H. Auden, 1970; Diana Vreeland, 1979; Kerry Harper, 1980; Duran Duran, 1986; and Catherine Bailey, 1989.

After you examine these thoughtful portraits, ask yourself what you want to learn from a portrait. Personality? Occupation? Habits? Relationships? Beliefs? Soul?

Exude your desire to connect and help others . . . so they will turn to you for aid!

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a CLASSIC., April 20, 2007

By 

Pawe Szaradowski "Pawel" (Poland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Horst Portraits: 60 Years of Style (Hardcover)

Title says everything about this book and pictures inside. There is also 40 pages containg biography of Horst P. Horst.