Horst

Paul. Pseudonym of Bohrmann Horst (1909-1999). German photographer, naturalized American. His photography has a strong theatrical component. Influenced by Steichen, they evoke the purest spirit of the 1930s. At the age of 23, he became assistant to the photographer, George Hoyningen-Huene, for whom he had previously posed. In 1932 he started collaborating with Condé Nast. In 1935 he took over from his master at Harper’s Bazaar. His vision of women is full of grace and sensitivity. Still-life scenes of interiors and advertising writings often feature in his fashion photography. He was comforted by the intellectual everyday life of Paris in the years between the two wars, he was friends with Coco Chanel, Cocteau, and the very young Luchino Visconti. After the war, in which he fought on the American side, he became the favorite photographer of Diana Vreeland. He was a great portrayer and a formidable travel reporter. He worked for House & Garden for a long time. He had several exhibitions in the USA and Europe. Among his books, Photographs of a Decade, his autobiography salutes the 1930s. In 1991, the German publishing house, Schirmer-Mosel, published the volume Horst, Six Decades of Photography.