Bill Brandt

Executed in 1952 and printed later.

Private Collection, Japan

London, Barbican Art Gallery, Bill Brandt: Photographs 1928-1983, September - December 1993, illustrated p. 172 (another example exhibited)

Bill Brandt, Bill Brandt: Shadow of Light, New York, 1977, pl. 79
Bill Jay & David Hockney, Brandt: The Photography of Bill Brandt, London, 1999, illustrated on the cover and p. 266

Unlike purists photographers, Bill Brandt believed in the manipulation of photographs with artistic contortion, cropping, and photo-montage, and was deliberate during his photo shoots. This image from 1952 belongs to his nude series, which Brandt considered to be his best ones. Nude photography became a focus for Brandt upon his 1945 purchase of a 1931 wide-angled Kodak camera formerly used by the police to capture crime scenes. This particular image features the Vienna studio style, which zooms in on the head with harsh lighting and a plain background. Bill Brandt stood at the forefront of British photography for many decades in the 20^th century, and has been exhibited at museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.