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.
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Painting + Coffee: Simone D'Aillencourt, Fabiani
By William Klein
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the artist
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Smoke and Veil, Paris (Vogue)
By William Klein
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, and dated in pencil, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City.
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Dorothy and Beach Ball and Dwarf Scout, Paris
By William Klein
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, and dated in pencil, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City.
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Anouk Aimee, Paris
By William Klein
Located in New York, NY
William Klein Anouk Aimee, Paris, 1961 silver gelatin print 32 x 40" ed. of 30 38 x 48" ed. of 30
Silver Gelatin
Marilyn Monroe on the Set of The Misfits, Nevada
By Eve Arnold
Located in Santa Monica, CA
going over her lines for a difficult scene she is about to play with Clark Gable signed by artist in pencil on verso
Silver Gelatin
Terry O'Neill 'Sean Connery as Bond' (Sheriff)
By Terry O'Neill
Located in New York, NY
Terry O'Neill Sean Connery as Bond 1971 (printed later) silver gelatin print 20 x 16 inches Estate signature stamped and numbered edition of 50 with certificate of authenticity Scot...
Silver Gelatin
Peek-A-Boo Beatles (1965) - Silver Gelatin Print
Located in London, GB
Peek-A-Boo Beatles (1937) - Silver Gelatin Print (Photo by R. McPhedran/Express/Getty Images) 14th June 1965: The British rock group The Beatles stand in a window at Twickenham Fil...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$3,700
H 14 in W 11 in D 0.07 in
Frida in front of the Unfinished Unity Panel, New Workers School, NY
By Lucienne Bloch
Located in Denton, TX
Frida in front of the Unfinished Unity Panel by Lucienne Bloch is a black a white portrait of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, posing in front of Diego Rivera's half painted mural. Ima...
Silver Gelatin
Bea with a whip at The Other Side
By Nan Goldin
Located in New York, NY
Nan Goldin Bea with a whip at The Other Side 1973 Gelatin silver print 14 x 11 inches; 36 x 28 cm Edition of 100 Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in graphite (lower right verso) ...
Silver Gelatin
$7,500
H 14 in W 11 in D 0.1 in
Mother with Sons, 3rd Ward, Houston, TX - Vintage Print, Neighborhood
By Earlie Hudnall Jr.
Located in Denton, TX
Signed, titled, dated and print type in pencil on print verso Vintage gelatin silver print Earlie Hudnall, who is one of the most notable African American photographers living today, has extensively documented the African American neighborhoods in Houston, Texas. After serving as a Marine in Vietnam, he enrolled at Texas Southern University, where he studied art under the direction of John Biggers, who became a great friend and mentor. During his time at TSU, he was hired to be a photographer for the Model Cities Program, part of Lyndon Johnson...
Silver Gelatin
Couple in MG, Florence, Italy
By Ruth Orkin
Located in Denton, TX
No Edition Blind stamp on print margin. Signed by Estate, titled, dated and copyright date in pencil on artist stamp. Paper size: 16 x 20 in. Ruth Orkin (1921 - 1985) was an America...
Silver Gelatin
$4,500
H 16 in W 24 in
"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 16 x 24 in Edition 57/75 by Lawrence Schiller
By Lawrence Schiller
Located in Culver City, CA
"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 16 x 24 in Edition 57/75 by Lawrence Schiller Silver Gelatin print Edition 57/75 Signed and numbered by the artist Printed later On Wednesday, May 23, 1962, Marilyn Monroe stepped onto the set of Something’s Got to Give to film what would become one of the most iconic and talked-about moments of her career: the now-legendary nude swimming pool scene. This extraordinary day—captured in a series of rare photographs by renowned photographer Lawrence Schiller—has since become a cornerstone of Hollywood history. Key moments that make this session truly historic: A Bold Cinematic First: Monroe spent nearly four hours in the pool on the 20th Century Fox lot, filming a sequence in which her character, Ellen Arden, appears to swim nude...
Silver Gelatin
Joan Crawford - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
Located in London, GB
Joan Crawford - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized (Photo by Pictorial Press / Alamy Archives) Joan Crawford (1905-1977) US film actress. Additional Information: Unframed Pa...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
New York
By Don Donaghy
Located in Denton, TX
Signed, titled, and dated. American street photographer Don Donaghy (1936 - 2008, b. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), was a fourth-generation native of Philadelphia. He studied commerci...
Silver Gelatin
$5,000
H 20 in W 16 in
Richard Corman - Jean-Michel Basquiat VI: A Portrait, 1984 Signed/N photograph
By Richard Corman
Located in New York, NY
Richard Corman Jean-Michel Basquiat VI: A Portrait, 1984, 2018 Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated and numbered 4/30 by Richard Corman in marker on the reverse 20 × 16 inches...
Silver Gelatin
$755
H 11.74 in W 7.92 in D 0.02 in
Jackie Onassis, new girl in town; Black and White; Paris, 1970s, 29, 8 x 20, 1 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis (July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, and photographer who became First Lady of the United States as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. Her popularity as First Lady was due to her devotion to historical preservation of the White House, her fashion sense, and her devotion to her children, which endeared her to the American public. During her lifetime, Jackie was regarded as an international fashion icon. Her ensemble of a pink Chanel suit and matching pillbox hat that she wore in Dallas, Texas, when the president was assassinated on November 22, 1963, has become a symbol of her husband's death. (wikipedia) Description: Jacky Onassis, new...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
Club Allegro Fortissimo, Paris
By William Klein
Located in New York, NY
Club Allegro Fortissimo, Paris,1990 Gelatin Silver Print/ Enlarged contact strip outlined with blue gloss paint, signed in felt pen 45 x 60 inches Edition unique Signed in felt pen
Silver Gelatin
Smoke + Veil, Paris (Vogue)
By William Klein
Located in New York, NY
William Klein (born in New York, NY, on April 19, 1928) is a photographer and filmmaker. Though born in New York and educated at the City College of New York, Klein is predominantly ...
Silver Gelatin