William KleinSmoke + Veil, Paris, VOGUE, 1958
About the Item
- Creator:William Klein (1928, American)
- Dimensions:Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2914332012
William Klein
American photographer William Klein continually channeled the zeitgeist through his oeuvre, imbuing his photography with startling honesty and empathy, as well as his own particular brand of abstraction. The portraits, scenes and scenarios resemble windows into a world where reality has begun to warp, sometimes dreamily, other times more emphatically, so that snapshot moments are strangely portentous or full of possibility.
Klein was best known for his early fashion shots and arresting street photography, capturing, with candor and humanity, life in cities around the world, including Rome, Moscow, Tokyo and Paris. His gritty and grainy images of 1950s New York are widely considered his most powerful, documenting the underbelly of a growing metropolis, with his focus set on the energy and multidimensional nature of postwar culture. In his 1955 image Selwyn Theatre, 42nd Street, New York, for example, Klein contrasted the gleaming silhouette of a car with the faded-out forms of a group of young men about town, creating strong graphic patterns that suggest a sense of abandon and opportunity.
Klein’s aesthetic, however, is not easy to summarize, since he demonstrated an eager embrace of experimentation through the decades. Early street shots are often out of focus and taken at unexpected angles, while his 1960s fashion shots and celebrity portraits for Vogue’s American, French and British editions are sleek and subtly Surrealist, pioneering a new style that put the spotlight on the beauty of the composition rather than the allure of the clothes, as seen in Smoke and Veil (1956) and his 1961 portrait of Anouk Aimée for Paris Vogue.
In addition to photography, Klein explored painting, filmmaking, graphic design and publishing, adopting a polymathic attitude to the arts. Klein began his career as a painter under the tutelage of French abstractionist Fernand Léger, having moved to Paris in 1948. The experience opened his mind to the possibilities of manipulated form, specifically the illusionary effects achieved through the playful arrangement of light and shadow.
A commission from 1952 was instrumental in his side step into photography. Having created a painted room divider for an architect, Klein took photographs of the rotating piece. His delight in the fragmented shapes created by the movement prompted him to make thousands of abstract photograms by applying shifting geometrical forms on photographic paper during long exposures.
Indeed, the unorthodox mixture of disorder and imperfection, along with beauty and energy, remained a constant in his work, as evidenced by such unconventionally arresting images as Candy Store, Amsterdam Avenue, New York (1955), Independence Day Parade, Dakar (1963) and Black Venus West Indian Day Parade, Brooklyn, New York (2013). Among Klein’s most famous celluloid achievements is his 1964 documentary Cassius the Great, dedicated to a young Muhammad Ali in the run up to his fight with Sonny Liston.
In fact, many of Klein’s photographs and films have a strong sociopolitical dimension, although they were not intended as acts of propaganda. Instead, they raised awareness about conditions of flux, antagonism, hope and change, especially among African American and minority communities as they navigated times of change. This is exemplified by vibrant shots like Easter Sunday, Harlem High Hat, New York and Moves and Pepsi, Harlem, both featured in the self-designed and self-published seminal tome New York: 1954.55.
Find authentic William Klein photography on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Playboy Bunnies, New YorkBy Ellen von UnwerthLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographer.Category
1990s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Richard Gere, San BernardinoBy Herb RittsLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographerCategory
1970s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Samuel from BehindBy Rodney SmithLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographer on the recto and versoCategory
1990s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Don Jumping Over Hay Roll No. 1, Monkonton MarylandBy Rodney SmithLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographer on the recto of mountCategory
1990s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Tropicana 4: Habana, Cuba, 2010Located in New York, NYSigned by the photographer on the versoCategory
2010s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Y's for Living, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1988By Kurt MarkusLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographer on the recto and versoCategory
1980s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Lightning Strikes, New Mexico 2014Located in Santa Fe, NMSir Roger Deakins, Cinematographer and Photographer. Byways, Damiani Books. Lightning Strikes, New Mexico 2014, available in several sizes, please inquire.Category
2010s Landscape Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Alfred StieglitzBy Imogen CunninghamLocated in Santa Fe, NMThe image of Alfred Stieglitz standing in front of Black Iris III painted by Georgia O'Keeffe in 1926. When Imogen Cunningham took this picture in 1934, the painting was hanging in S...Category
Mid-20th Century Portrait Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Smoking Break, Germany, 2007Located in Santa Fe, NMSir Roger Deakins, Cinematographer and Photographer. Byways, Damiani Books. Smoking Break, Germany, 2007, available in several sizes, please inquire.Category
2010s Landscape Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Poppit Sands #19, WalesLocated in London, GB"I went there one evening and just by chance there was a low tide. I took a batch of photos and once I developed them at home I saw a certain light and a certain type of picture that...Category
2010s Tonalist Black and White Photography
MaterialsArchival Paper, Black and White, Silver Gelatin
- Near the Church - abstract black and white landscape depicted in the LuminogramLocated in London, GBNEAR THE CHURCH, 2016 Unique Luminogram Silver Gelatin Print, Framed; Framing options available, also can be shipped unframed if preferable Framed; museum mount board, white metal fr...Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Prints
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, Black and White, Photogram, Silver Gelatin
- The Self Representation of Light #412, 2 x Luminograms as one workLocated in London, GBIt's really majestic piece. It's grand in size and its got a very beautiful and impressive contrast in shades. This piece is something very special... two Luminograms in one work of...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Photography
MaterialsBlack and White, Photogram, Silver Gelatin, Glass, Oak, Archival Paper
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Kali Is an Art World Sensation, 40 Years after She Hid Her Work Away
A newly discovered trove of her kaleidoscopic works reveals that the enigmatic artist captured the zeitgeist of 1960s Southern California.
Inside the Bubble of Melvin Sokolsky
In the early 1960s, the photographer captured elegant models soaring through the air and floating in bubbles over Paris and New York. Now, we reveal the secrets behind his magical compositions.