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
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
$4,500
H 12 in W 16 in D 2.5 in
Audrey Hepburn with a Dove 1966 Signed Limited Edition Framed Print
By Terry O'Neill
Located in London, GB
A contemplative Audrey Hepburn with a dove perched on her shoulder, 1966. TITLE: Hepburn with a Dove 1966 PHOTO: Terry O’Neill SIGNED LIMITED EDITION (LAST AVAILBLE COPY OF THIS SIZ...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$250
H 7.49 in W 9.49 in
Yesteryear's Wire Walker (Unidentified) – original circus photograph, 1950s
Located in Middletown, NY
Gelatin silver print mounted on board, 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (190 x 241 mm) from the Roland Butler Collection, Press Agent, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1930s-1960s) Roland...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$3,000
H 11 in W 14 in D 1.5 in
Killers For Hire, JFK, South Dakota 1960, Black and White Photograph by Art Shay
By Art Shay
Located in Chicago, IL
This photograph features John F Kennedy sitting on the back of a convertible with US Representative George McGovern in what at first glance appears to be a parade route in South Dako...
Silver Gelatin
$1,340
H 40 in W 30 in
Swan Dive (1956) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
By H. Armstrong Roberts
Located in London, GB
Swan Dive (1956) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Alamy) 1st March 1956. A man swan diving from the high diving boar...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$1,340
H 30 in W 40 in
Spectator Tennis (1938) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
By H. Armstrong Roberts
Located in London, GB
Spectator Tennis (1938) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Alamy) 1st December 1938. Spectators watching a tennis match at a country club. Addi...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$425
H 16 in W 20 in
Princess Audrey (1953) Limited Edition Silver Gelatin Print
By Phillip Harrington
Located in London, GB
Princess Audrey (1953) (Photo By Phillip Harrington) Audrey Hepburn preparing for a scene in the 1953 film “Roman Holiday” dir. William Wyler, in which Hepburn plays Ann, the crown princess of a European nation, whose state visit to Rome, Italy, turns into the adventure she'd hoped for when she meets American journalist, Joe (Gregory Peck). Assisting Hepburn is dresser Sally Gordon, and in the background is the costume designer Edith Head. Additional Information: Unframed Paper Size: 16x20'' Note image size may vary from paper size - please contact us directly for exact image dimensions Printed Later Limited Edition Silver Gelatin Fibre Print NOTE OTHER SIZES OF THIS IMAGE AVAILABLE 10 x 12'' 12 x 16'' 16 x 20'' 20 x 24'' 20 x 30'' FRAMING AVAILABLE ON REQUEST About the Artist: Phillip A. Harrington was born in 1920 and grew up in Holland, Michigan. He developed an interest in photography at an early age, joining the high school camera club at 16. At the age of 19, Harrington moved to New York City to study at the Clarence. H. White school of photography, a prestigious institution with graduates such as Margaret Bourke-White, Dorothea Lange, Laura Gilpin...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
President JFK in the Oval Office
By Jacques Lowe
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Jacques Lowe, (born Jan. 24, 1930, Cologne, Ger.—died May 12, 2001, New York, N.Y.) (born Jan. 24, 1930, Cologne, Ger.—died May 12, 2001, New York, N.Y.) German-born American photogr...
Silver Gelatin
$5,000
H 11 in W 14 in
"First day in Office" President John F. Kennedy, The Oval Office, Washington D.C
By Jacques Lowe
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Jacques Lowe, (born Jan. 24, 1930, Cologne, Ger.—died May 12, 2001, New York, N.Y.) (born Jan. 24, 1930, Cologne, Ger.—died May 12, 2001, New York, N.Y.) German-born American photogr...
Silver Gelatin
'Tennis Legends' 1980 Silver Gelatin Print
Located in London, GB
'John McEnroe' 1981 Silver Gelatin Print by Watfiord / Mirror Group Archives. Wimbledon 3rd Day: John McEnroe. June 1981 The famous tennis star icon won at the All England Club championships that year, finally beating his long term rival Bjorn Borg...
Silver Gelatin
$1,340
H 40 in W 30 in
The Eiffel Tower (1929) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
By H. Armstrong Roberts
Located in London, GB
The Eiffel Tower (1929) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Alamy) Eiffel Tower built in 1889 seen from Trocadero wrought iron doors Paris France, circa 1929. Additional Information: Unframed Paper Size: 40x30'' Printed Later Silver Gelatin Fibre Print NOTE OTHER SIZES OF THIS IMAGE AVAILABLE 10 x 12'' 12 x 16'' 16 x 20'' 20 x 24'' 20 x 30'' 30 x 40'' FRAMING AVAILABLE ON REQUEST About the Artist: H. Armstrong ROBERTS (1883-1947) is an artist born in 1883 The oldest auction result ever registered on the website for an artwork by this artist is a photography sold in 2012. ACTORS ON SET, Bette Davis, Ladies Fashion...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$1,340
H 30 in W 40 in
Nude Portrait - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
By H. Armstrong Roberts
Located in London, GB
Nude Portrait - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Alamy) A woman poses for a nude studio portrait. Additional Information: Unframed Paper Si...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
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