121
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HORST, HORST P. (1906-1999)
“Still Life—N.Y.” Platinum-palladium print, 17
3
/
4
x14 inches (45.1x35.6 cm.), with
Horst’s signature, in pencil, on recto, and with his signature, in pencil, and the title,
date, printing notations, and edition notation A/P, also in pencil, in R.J. Horst’s hand,
all on verso. 1937; printed 1980s
[20,000/30,000]
From the Collection of the Herb Ritts Foundation.
Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann, who renamed himself Horst P. Horst (1906-1999), moved to
Paris in the 1920s, and studied with the renowned architect Le Corbusier. Subsequently he
met Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, a photographer for Vogue, and became his lover and
photographic assistant. Soon after, the young artist struck out on his own and developed a
unique style of fashion photography.
In 1937 Horst was introduced to Coco Chanel and subsequently photographed her fashions
for over three decades, along with those by designers Balenciaga, Mainbocher, and other
glamorous figures of Parisian couture.The editorial images he created for Vogue are associated
with a formal perfection in which art and commerce seamlessly merge.
Horst was also a successful portraitist and still life photographer, whose alluring images reflected
avant-garde aesthetics. Some of his artworks may even be characterized as Surrealist, especially
those in which he was influenced by the artist Salvador Dali. (See lots 107-109.) In this iconic
study, which uses simple forms and artificial light (Horst’s preferred mode of illumination), each
of the geometric objects is lit with trademark precision. The compositional arrangement is
mysterious, demonstrating how classical and contemporary modes of expression collide and converge.
