Muhammad Ali, 1963
From Marilyn Monroe and Richard Nixon to Audrey Hepburn and Ford matriarch, Mrs. Edsel Ford. Every artist, politician, actor, entrepreneur were jumping up and down for famous photographer Philippe Halsman. “When you ask a person to jump his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears,” he said.
Born in Latvia, Halsman came to New York during WWII, and began working for LIFE magazine. His interest in surrealism became a part of his photography, as apart from his famous mid-air portraits, he would frequently use photomontage to create bizarre images, such as the one of Alfred Hitchcock and the bird on his cigar.
All images © LIFE
Expérimentation pour un portrait de femme 1931-1940
Philippe Halsman – Autoportrait, 1950
Marilyn Monroe in her apartment, 1952
Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren for the promotion of The Birds, 1962
Salvador Dalí on CBS The Morning Show, 1956
Philippe Halsman and Marilyn Monroe, 1959, photo by Yvonne Halsman
Brigitte Bardot, 1955
Ballet aquatique, 1953
Audrey Hepburn, 1955
Jean Cocteau, l’artiste multidisciplinaire, 1949
Dali Atomicus, 1948
