Arthur Elgort

Midsummer Night's Dream: The Economist

2008

One of the world’s most frequently imitated photographers, Arthur Elgort is a tireless innovator known for his lively “snapshot” style. He has freelanced for a range of top-tier magazines and luxury brands, and is credited with introducing movement and an emphasis on the wonders of natural light to the realm of fashion photography.

Born in 1940 in New York City, Elgort attended Stuyvesant High School and later studied painting at Hunter College before turning to photography. “I started as a painter, but I was a bad copy of Franz Kline,” explained Elgort in an interview with the New York Times. “I couldn’t draw. But I thought, ‘If I had a camera, I could capture something.’ So, I became a photographer.” 

Elgort’s career began as a photo assistant to Swedish fashion photographer Gösta Peterson. He shot his first cover photo for Mademoiselle magazine. However, a series of groundbreakingly candid black and white photos Elgort took of a model playing with a dog for British Vogue in 1971 cemented his status as a star in fashion photography. 

Elgort’s relaxed technique, which sees him capturing breezy images of models in what appear to be candid moments, was a refreshing and welcome change to the stiff and staged studio shoots that were characteristic of fashion photography during the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, Elgort has taken some of the fashion industry’s most iconic portraits, particularly of supermodels Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer and Christy Turlington. 

For decades, Elgort has worked as a photographer at Vogue, and his striking black and white and color photos have also graced the pages of Rolling Stone, GQ and Glamour.

Elgort’s works are featured in galleries and museums around the world, including the International Center of Photography in New York City, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

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