Philippe Halsman

Philippe Halsman: Facets and Faces

Philippe Halsman: Facets and Faces

Photographers who capture an iconic image are often confronted with a paradox: the celebration of a single photograph overshadows the entirety an artistic oeuvre. Yet what happens in those rare situations when a single photographer is responsible for scores of iconic images? This question is explored by the Halsman: Facets and Facets exhibition. Philippe Halsman (b. Riga, 1906; d. New…
Biography: Portrait photographer Philippe Halsman

Biography: Portrait photographer Philippe Halsman

Halsman (1906 – 1979) grew up in Riga, Latvia, in a family of assimilated Jews and studied engineering at a university in Dresden. Two years after his graduation, he moved to Paris, turned his photographic hobby into a profession, and opened his own portrait studio, specializing in fashion and theater portraits. A few years later, with the threat of World War…