William Klein
Overview
William Klein (1926-2022) grew up as a Jewish boy in an area where anti-Semitism was common. He turned to art at a young age as a way to escape from his peers. After a brief spell in the US Army he moved to France and studied painting under Fernand Leger. Klein moved back to New York in the 1950s and started working as a photographer. He experimented with new techniques, which created unusual shading, odd angles, and other unconventional (for the time) elements and compositions on the finished images. Klein shot a number of fashion photographs for Vogue, but became disillusioned with fashion photography and went on to create a series that depicted the darker side of life in New York. When no one would publish the photos, he turned the images into the book New York. He later published the companion volumes Rome, Moscow, and Tokyo. Klein turned to film in the 1980s, creating the works Broadway By Light, Who Are You Polly Maggoo?, and The Messiah. Klein’s influence on contemporary photography and technique is hard to calculate, such has been his impact on the art form. A major retrospective of his entire career was staged at Tate Modern in 2014.
Featured Exhibitions
Red Light and Vespa, Rome 1956
Gelatin silver print
Dance in Brooklyn, New York 1955
Gelatin silver print
Hamburger 40 $, New York, 1955
Gelatin silver print
Shinohasa, Boxer Painter, Tokyo 1961
Gelatin silver print
Tatiana & Rose Marie, snack in desert, Morocco 1963
Gelatin silver print
Models Backstage, Film ‘Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?’ 1966
Gelatin silver print

Gun 1, New York, 1954
Gelatin silver print

Simone et Marines, Pont Alexandre III, Paris, 1960
Gelatin silver print

Smoke + Veil, Paris (Vogue), 1958
Gelatin silver print

Simone + Nina, Piazza di Spagna, Rome, 1960
Gelatin silver print

Simone + Nina, Piazza di Spagna, Rome, 1960
Gelatin silver print

Baseball cards, Bubbles, 1955
Gelatin silver print

Club Allegro Fortissimo, Paris, 1990
Gelatin silver print

Hat & 5 Roses, Paris (Vogue), 1956
Gelatin silver print

Mohammad Ali & Bundini after the victory against Sonny Liston, February 1964
Gelatin silver print, painted later with gloss car paint, unique

Antonia in a Mirror Box, Paris, 1963
Gelatin silver print

Isabella + Dove + Mirrors, Paris 1963
Gelatin silver print

Do it yourself, New York, 1955
Gelatin silver print

Wings of the Hawk, 42nd Street, New York, 1955
Gelatin silver print

Candy Store, New York, 1955
Gelatin silver print

Ostia Beach, Rome, 1956
Gelatin silver print