Description:

Philippe Halsman
Chartwell, UK, [ca. 1951]
Winston Churchill, Iconic Original Print by Philippe Halsman, With Period Contact Sheet
Photograph
Two items, namely an original vintage 8" x 10" b/w print of the iconic Philippe Halsman 1951 portrait of Winston Churchill at Chartwell, UK, accomplished in the photographer's closely-cropped style and with an intimacy not often seen in formal portraiture. Churchill appears as his usual glowering self in casual zippered jacket and without tie in this arresting portrait. This piece was included in the textbooks for the courses that Halsman, and other acclaimed photographers, taught at the Famous Photographers School in the 1960s. Fine condition, with Halsman signature in print at bottom right. Offered with a period contact sheet with multiple examples of the same image.

Of his portrait photography Halsman would say "Every face I see seems to hide—and sometimes fleetingly reveal—the mystery of another human being."

This photograph comes directly from the archive of the Famous Photographers School, founded in 1961 and directed by renowned photographer Victor Keppler. It gathered as faculty the ten most famous American photographers of its time: Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Alfred Eisenstadt, Bert Stern, Richard Beattie, Philippe Halsman, Arthur d'Arazien, Joseph Costa, Ezra Stoller, Harry Garfield and others. Margaret Bourke-White served as faculty advisor.

Each photographer created works exclusively for the school textbooks, as well as illustrating the lessons with some of their most famous photographs. These prints were kept in file drawers following the dissolution of the school in the mid-seventies.

The images we offer here come directly from the photographers' studios. These works are the actual prints used to create iconic images featured in issues of LIFE, Time, Vogue, and so many other publications, and created long before limited-edition portfolios with signed examples of the photographers' works were offered widely. The Famous Photographers School Archive was purchased by a Connecticut photography expert. While much of it was then acquired by the Yale University Art Gallery in 2016, the original purchaser retained a small collection, which are now offered by University Archives.

Philippe Halsman (1906-1979) was a Latvian-born Jewish photographer who was one of the countless great artists who emigrated to the United States in 1940, with the help of Albert Einstein. For the next 30 years he produced some of the most memorable photographs of the 20th century, including 101 covers for LIFE magazine. He also enjoyed a 37-year collaboration with Surrealist artist Salvador Dali. In the early 1950s, Halsman began to ask his subjects to jump for his camera at the conclusion of each sitting - the most famous of which may be Marilyn Monroe. These uniquely witty and energetic images have become an important part of his photographic legacy.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8" x 10"
  • Medium: Photograph

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