I'd never heard of this guy until I was in a used book store the other day and found a copy of one of his books. When I grow up, I want to be as clever as he is. He worked far too long ago for his work to be digitally manipulated, so he obviously worked by merging images. But he amuses me.
I doubt that I'll ever be like him. I could never grow a beard like that! And while I've always told everybody I have a sense of humor, everyone else has assured me I don't. He clearly does. His portraits are a cross between Yosuf Karsh and Salvadore Dali. His portrait of Spike Milligan's head (whoever he was) in a bell jar should have been a classic. Until the other day I had never seen it before in my life. He worked with a lot of Hollywood stars, so there is a great deal of fantasy in his work. And it works. The one portrait of his that I was familiar with (and I didn't even know who did it until now) was the photograph of the Beatles on their album The Beatles / 1967-1970. Admittedly it is one of his less unusual shots...but it gives you old farts some perspective on his work.
Another thing is that I don't send out Christmas cards. He did a Christmas card self-portrait every year, and each year competed with himself to outdo the guy he was last year. His 1947 card of an old tenement stairwell with the mop and bucket on the first step and just his head on the fourth was classic. Then I came across the one where his torso and legs are all you see at the back of a large view camera, and his head is sticking out of the lens. I've had days like that, too.
His conventional portraiture was excellent as well. In that respect he was a softer and more gentle Karsh. Similar technique but the subjects actually look human. If you get a chance, look into one of his books. He'll amuse you. And if I ever grow up......
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