Philippe Halsman: A Retrospective - Photgraphs From the Halsman Family Collection
Photographs of film celebrities try to reveal more than their movies do. Whether looking surprised or carefully posed, celebrities have the visual control of themselves and how they look down to a science. This large, aggressive book of sometimes astonishing, sometimes quiet photographs shows the generous archive of black-and-white celebrity shots left to us by Philippe Halsman (1906?79). Halsman brought originality, respect, and confidence to his work. What's missing here is Halsman himself getting his self-conscious subjects to leap or slouch or sneer or bask in their own glory; whether or not we admire the work of this incredibly gifted photographer, we can't help but appreciate his ability to reveal the people he shot. Jane Halsman Bello, the photographer's daughter, and her husband have arranged the book alphabetically by celebrity surname. Big, beautiful, and recommended for general collections.?David Bryant, New Canaan P.L., CTCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.