Skip to main content

Sabine Weiss Art

Swiss, b. 1924

Sabine Weiss was born in Switzerland in 1924. In 1942, she wondered what to do with her life, and decided that she should become a photographer because it is what she loves. Weiss's mother showed her art galleries and Roman churches at a very young age, and her researcher-chemist father loved to see her print her little photos with the resources available at the time.

From 1942 until 1945, Weiss was an apprentice at Boissonnas in Geneva, house of a dynasty of photographers. In 1945, she moved to a studio in Geneva, but in 1946 Weiss decided to leave her childhood city to live in Paris. She knew there was no turning back. Weiss asked German photographer Willy Maywald to become her assistant. In 1949, Weiss met the painter Hugh Weiss and realized right away that she would spend her life with him. Weiss left Maywald and she mastered her craft and started a long career, experimenting with fashion, photojournalism, advertising and everything else.

During her free time, Weiss liked to immortalize the depths of man in all simplicity. Her photographs moved Edward Steichen when he was preparing his major exhibition "The Family of Man," and he decided to present three of her images.

In recent years, Sabine Weiss has dedicated her time to exhibitions that showcase the humanist side of her work because it means a lot to her.

(Biography provided by Peter Fetterman Gallery)

to
4
4
4
2
1
Alberto Giacometti dans son Atelier, 1954 (Giacometti in his studio)
Alberto Giacometti dans son Atelier, 1954 (Giacometti in his studio)

Alberto Giacometti dans son Atelier, 1954 (Giacometti in his studio)

By Sabine Weiss

Located in New York, NY

Sabine Weiss Alberto Giacometti dans son Atelier, 1954 (Giacometti in his studio), ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print mounted on paper Signed in graphite by Sabine Weiss on the mount directly underneath the photograph Frame Included This now iconic photograph of Alberto Giacometti in his studio was taken in 1954 by the celebrated photographer Sabine Weiss, who at the time, had unparalleled access to the artist. It was printed ca. 1970 and signed on the mount directly underneath the photograph in a limited edition of an undisclosed size. Highly collectible. Elegantly matted and framed in a museum quality wood frame with UV plexiglass. Measurements: Framed 18 x 14.5 x 1.25 inches Photograph 12.5 x 8.75 inches Sabine Weiss biography: For over sixty years, Sabine Weiss’s name has been synonymous with the seminal era of French Humanist photography. A living legend, Weiss’s images from 1950s Paris speak of a postwar time when a feeling of hope and joie de vivre could be felt in the people populating the city’s cafes, squares, streets, and in all corners throughout Paris. Weiss would photograph individuals going about their daily lives capturing their emotions and creating a style that combined spontaneity and informality, backed by photographer’s intuition and knack for seeing and celebrating the simple joys of life. As she said, “I take photographs to hold on to the ephemeral, capture chance, keep an image of something that will disappear: gestures, attitudes, objects that are reminders of our brief lives. The camera picks them up and freezes them at the very moment that they disappear. I love this constant dialogue between myself, my camera and my subject, which is what differentiates me from certain other photographers, who don’t seek this dialogue and prefer to distance themselves from their subject.” Originally from Switzerland, Weiss moved to Paris in 1946 where she first assisted fashion photographer Willy...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Penn Station, New York

Penn Station, New York

By Sabine Weiss

Located in Santa Monica, CA

Signed, titled, & dated in pencil on print verso Gelatin Silver Print Paper - 16"x20", Image 14"x16", Matted - 20"x24"

Category

1960s Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Mode pour Vogue, Paris

Mode pour Vogue, Paris

By Sabine Weiss

Located in Santa Monica, CA

Signed in pencil on verso Gelatin Silver Print Paper 16x20, Matted 20x24

Category

1950s Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Lost and Found

Lost and Found

By Sabine Weiss

Located in Santa Monica, CA

Signed in pencil on verso Gelatin Silver Print Image 13x17 3/4", Paper 16x20, Matted 20x24

Category

1950s Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Related Items
Subway 30, NYC 1980s, New York  City, Kids, Photograph, Subway, Limited Edition
Subway 30, NYC 1980s, New York  City, Kids, Photograph, Subway, Limited Edition

Subway 30, NYC 1980s, New York City, Kids, Photograph, Subway, Limited Edition

By John Conn

Located in Riverdale, NY

John Conn New York City Subway photographs. These limited edition fine art photographs were originally taken between 1975 and 1982. Each black and white photograph is signed and numbered. Edition of 15. 20x30 image printed on 24x36 archival paper. This is framed in a black frame to 28x38. In this series, Conn captured the graffiti and one of the most crime ridden periods in New York. According to one source “In the 1980s, over 250 felonies were committed every week in the system, making the New York subway the most dangerous mass transit system in the world.” One image captures an Irish...

Category

1970s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Ink, Archival Paper

Lovers, San Francisco.
Lovers, San Francisco.

Lovers, San Francisco.

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Fisher Ross. Untitled, ca. 1975-80. Gelatin Silver print, sheet measures 8 x 10 inches; 17 x 21 inches framed. Artist studio stamp on verso. Excellent cond...

Category

1970s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Audrey Hepburn, 1953  - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography)
Audrey Hepburn, 1953  - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography)

Audrey Hepburn, 1953 - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography)

By Bob Willoughby

Located in London, GB

Audrey Hepburn, 1953 - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography) Archival pigment print Printed on 20 x 24 inch paper From an edition of 25 Also available in alternative sizes Bob W...

Category

1950s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Prado Visitors, Madrid, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Prado Visitors, Madrid, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph

Prado Visitors, Madrid, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features visitors at the The Prado Museum (Museo Nacional del Prado) viewing Diego Velázquez's maste...

Category

1950s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Lambda

Subway 30, Kids, 1980s, NYC, Black & White Photograph, Subway, Limited Ed.
Subway 30, Kids, 1980s, NYC, Black & White Photograph, Subway, Limited Ed.

Subway 30, Kids, 1980s, NYC, Black & White Photograph, Subway, Limited Ed.

By John Conn

Located in Riverdale, NY

John Conn New York City Subway photographs. These limited edition fine art photographs were originally taken between 1975 and 1982. Each black and white photograph is signed and numbered. Edition of 15. 20x30 image printed on 24x36 archival paper. This is framed. In this series, Conn captured the graffiti and one of the most crime ridden periods in New York. According to one source “In the 1980s, over 250 felonies were committed every week in the system, making the New York subway the most dangerous mass transit system in the world.” One image captures an Irish Catholic Nun on the Subway reading about the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II which took place on May 13 1981. Another captures a knife wielding arm through a subway window. This iconic Subway series shot is part of the permanent collection of The New York Historical Society and Hoboken Historical Museum. About John Conn John Conn got his start as a Marine Combat photographer, and later earned his BFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York. As a freelance photographer and writer, he has captured a range of subjects photojournalism delving into political and social issues, nature and landscapes, architecture, and underwater images. His work has appeared in: New York Times Sunday Magazine; Time/Life Books; IMAX Films; Village Voice; Human Rights Magazine; Shutterbug Magazine; Hasseleblad Magazine; American Photographer; RangeFinder Magazine; LensWork Magazine; Ocean Realm; Dive Travel Magazine; Picture Magazine...

Category

1970s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Ink, Archival Paper

Frank Sinatra, 1959  - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography)
Frank Sinatra, 1959  - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography)

Frank Sinatra, 1959 - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography)

By Bob Willoughby

Located in London, GB

Frank Sinatra, 1959 - Bob Willoughby (Portrait Photography) Archival pigment print Printed on 20 x 24 inch paper From an edition of 25 Also available in alternative sizes Bob Wi...

Category

1950s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Early 20th Century Photograph -- Sidewalk Club of the Motherlode
Early 20th Century Photograph -- Sidewalk Club of the Motherlode

Early 20th Century Photograph -- Sidewalk Club of the Motherlode

By Sigismund Blumann

Located in Soquel, CA

"Sidewalk Club of the Motherlode" a Lithobrome photograh by Sigismund Blumann (American, 1872-1956). Signed "Sigismund Blumann" lower right. Titled "Sidewalk Club of the Motherlode" on verso. Image size, 11.25"H x 13.25"W. Between 1923 and 1932, his pictures were accepted at photographic salons in Amsterdam, Toronto, Rochester, Seattle, and Los Angeles. In 1927, a one-person exhibition of his bromoil prints traveled to camera clubs in Chicago, Akron, Cincinnati, and New York. In addition to bromoil, a process that yields pointillistic images, Blumann utilized such unusual processes as kallitype (Vandyke brown), lithobrome, and pastelograph (the latter two probably his own inventions) to create original photographs using chemical processes he invented. Sigismund Blumann (1872–1956) (figure 1) was a prominent tastemaker in Californian photography during the 1920s and 1930s. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area for his entire career, he edited magazines, wrote books, and made creative photographs. From 1924 to 1933 Blumann edited Camera Craft, the leading West Coast photographic monthly. Subsequently he established his own periodical, Photo Art Monthly, which he published until 1940. In these two magazines — for over fifteen years — Blumann found a large audience of mainstream pictorial photographers. In addition, he wrote five instructional books on photography...

Category

1920s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Alfred Hitchcock and Ina, Hollywood, Harper's Bazaar

Alfred Hitchcock and Ina, Hollywood, Harper's Bazaar

By Jeanloup Sieff

Located in New York, NY

Alfred Hitchcock and Ina, Hollywood, Harper's Bazaar, 1962 Gelatin Silver Print image size: 12 x 8 inches print size: 13 x 9 1/2 inches signed in pen recto on lower right; photog...

Category

1960s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Last-minute Adjustments, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Last-minute Adjustments, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph

Last-minute Adjustments, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a young woman has last-minute adjustments made to her dress at a debutante ball. This is a...

Category

1950s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Lambda

Untitled, (Leatherman Cowboy), Castro, San Francisco.
Untitled, (Leatherman Cowboy), Castro, San Francisco.

Untitled, (Leatherman Cowboy), Castro, San Francisco.

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Fisher Ross. Untitled, ca. 1975-80. Gelatin Silver print, sheet measures 8 x 10 inches. Artist studio stamp on verso. Good condition with some rippling in ...

Category

1970s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Elizabeth Campbell Parks, New York, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Portrait Phot
Elizabeth Campbell Parks, New York, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Portrait Phot

Elizabeth Campbell Parks, New York, Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Portrait Phot

By Slim Aarons

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This early 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Elizabeth Campbell Parks and Leslie, her daughter with the photographer and filmmaker Gor...

Category

1970s Realist Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Lambda

Previously Available Items
La petite egyptienne
La petite egyptienne

La petite egyptienne

By Sabine Weiss

Located in Santa Monica, CA

Sabine Weiss was born in Switzerland in 1924. In 1942, she wonders what she will do with her life, and decides that she should become a photographer because it is what she loves to d...

Category

1980s Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris
Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris

Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris

By Sabine Weiss

Located in Santa Monica, CA

Sabine Weiss was born in Switzerland in 1924. In 1942, she wonders what she will do with her life, and decides that she should become a photographer because it is what she loves to d...

Category

1940s Sabine Weiss Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Sabine Weiss art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Sabine Weiss art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Sabine Weiss in silver gelatin print, archival pigment print, pigment print and more. Not every interior allows for large Sabine Weiss art, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of René Groebli, Eva Sereny, and Jacques Lowe. Sabine Weiss art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $8,000 and tops out at $10,000, while the average work can sell for $8,000.

Artists Similar to Sabine Weiss