Marlon Brando, 1950

At the time of this sitting for Halsman's photo-spread for Life magazine, Marlon Brando was still a relatively unknown actor, who had just received critical acclaim for his recent performance in the Broadway production Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Philippe's wife Yvonne Halsman's recollection of the sitting is illuminating and engaging. Brando arrived for the session in the early morning. As Halsman wanted him to wear a T-shirt for the portrait, rather than the sport shirt he had chosen to wear, he dispatched a Life researcher to Brando's apartment to pick up an assortment of T-shirts (found stuffed in a pillowcase on his bed). While they waited, Brando enjoyed a breakfast of 7 poached eggs! (McGraw Hill, Philippe Halsman: Portraits). The print was considered a pivotal work in the recent, multi-venue exhibition, Philippe Halsman: A Retrospective and, as the cover of the accompanying book. Vintage prints of this image are extremely rare and indeed, this is last one in the Estate's collection.