Mainbocher Corset, Paris, 1939

Details

HORST P. HORST (1906-1999)
Mainbocher Corset, Paris, 1939
platinum print on canvas, printed later
signed in pencil in margin
23 3/8 x 17 3/8in. (59.4 x 44.1cm.)

Literature

'C'était hier', Vogue [Paris], December 1939, pp.34-35; Hall-Duncan, The History of Fashion Photography, Alpine Book, 1979, p.65 (corset tight to body); Devlin, Vogue Book of Fashion Photography, Thames & Hudson, 1979, p.46; Lawford, Horst: His Work and his World, Viking, 1984, p.184 (corset tight to body); Horst & Schirmer, Horst: Sixty Years of Photography, Universe, 1991, pl.8; Fraser, On The Edge: Images from 100 Years of Vogue, Random House, 1992, p.25.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe's platinum prints on linen, Horst produced a series of his best-known images on canvas, in editions of five, including Mainbocher Corset. This fashion study, made on the eve of the Second World War and distilling Horst's unique eye for elegance, has become his best known image and is universally recognized as an icon of its era.

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