Philippe Halsman: The French Crate
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Philippe Halsman fled Paris for New York in 1940, taking with him only his camera and twelve prints. Having relocated to America, Halsman enjoyed significant artistic and commercial success. As well as taking iconic portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Einstein, and collaborating with Dalí for 37 years, he also photographed 101 LIFE Magazine covers, which remains an unbeaten record.
After the war ended, a crate of his glass plates was returned to him, and subsequently forgotten until its recent re-discovery by his grandson, Oliver. The crate revealed not only a collection of lost works: it contained a record of an artist and city on the cusp of seismic change. Providing a rare insight into Halsman's early style, it also offers a glimpse into the artistic milieu of 1930s Paris, including portraits of such key figures as André Malraux, Marc Chagall and André Gide, as well as photographs of models, young actors, writers and filmmakers.
This book is, perhaps most of all, a testament to the alchemical – almost magical – nature of analogue photography. Emphasizing the tactile nature of a photographer's tools and materials, The French Crate provides a pointed reminder of what is lost in our digital age.
After the war ended, a crate of his glass plates was returned to him, and subsequently forgotten until its recent re-discovery by his grandson, Oliver. The crate revealed not only a collection of lost works: it contained a record of an artist and city on the cusp of seismic change. Providing a rare insight into Halsman's early style, it also offers a glimpse into the artistic milieu of 1930s Paris, including portraits of such key figures as André Malraux, Marc Chagall and André Gide, as well as photographs of models, young actors, writers and filmmakers.
This book is, perhaps most of all, a testament to the alchemical – almost magical – nature of analogue photography. Emphasizing the tactile nature of a photographer's tools and materials, The French Crate provides a pointed reminder of what is lost in our digital age.
Extent: 168 pp
Format: PLC (no jacket)
Illustrations: 126
Publication date: 2026-10-22
Size: 27.5 x 21.5 cm
ISBN: 9780500030462
Format: PLC (no jacket)
Illustrations: 126
Publication date: 2026-10-22
Size: 27.5 x 21.5 cm
ISBN: 9780500030462
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About the Author
Philippe Halsman was one of the greatest portrait photographers of his generation. He rose to prominence during the 1940s, photographing 101 covers for LIFE Magazine and collaborating with Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí for 37 years. His work is held in permanent collections at MOMA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, V&A and the Getty. Oliver Halsman Rosenberg is the co-director and archivist of his grandfather Philippe Halsman’s estate. A multi-disciplinary artist, writer and curator, he is the author of Unknown Halsman (2008).