Born On This Day- August 14th... Horst

More photography. Another gay artist. Horst P Horst & Herb Ritts in the same week. I have recently come to the realization that although I would give myself a C+ as an artist, I can draw & paint. I can place objects in a space with smart aesthetic judgments, & my gardens have been artful enough to published many times... but I am sad to discover that I am a shitty photogrpher. I have come to believe that photography is like singing, dancing or acting, you can hone your skills, but either ya got it, or you ain't.

In the history of 20th century fashion & portrait photography, Horst P Horst's contribution is among the most artistically significant & long lasting, 1931-1991. He would become so legendary that like other icons, he would be known by just a single word name. Horst’s work is the epitome, elegance, style & rarefied glamour.


In 1930, he met Vogue photographer Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, & the pair became lovers. He traveled to England with the baron. They visited photographer Cecil Beaton, who was working for British Vogue. In 1931, Horst began his association with Vogue, his 1st photograph in French Vogue was published that year.


Horst had his 1st show at La Plume d'Or in Paris in 1932. It was reviewed by Janet Flanner in The New Yorker, & Horst was made instantly famous. Horst shot a portrait of Bette Davis the same year, the 1st in a series of celebrities he would photograph during his life. In 1932 he photographed: Noel Coward, The Lunts, Cole Porter, & Elsa Schiaparelli.


Horst met Coco Chanel in NYC in 1937. Chanel: “Horst was the queen of the whole thing". He would photograph Chanel’s creations for more than 30 years.


He met Valentine Lawford, a British diplomat in 1938 & they lived openly as a couple until Lawford's death in 1991. They adopted & raised a son, Richard J. Horst, together.

In 1941, The German born Horst applied for United States citizenship, & soon joined the US Army. He became an Army photographer, with much of his work printed in the Armed Forces' magazine- Belvoir Castle. In 1945 he photographed United States President Harry S. Truman, with whom he became friends, & he photographed every First Lady in the post-war period at the invitation of the White House.


In 1947, Horst moved into his house in Oyster Bay, New York. He designed the white stucco clad building himself, the design inspired by the houses that he had seen in Tunisia during his relationship with Hoyningen-Huene.

In the 1960s, encouraged by Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, Horst began a series of photos of the high society: Consuelo Vanderbilt, Marella Agnelli, Gloria Guinness, Baroness & Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Helen of Greece & Denmark, Baroness Geoffroy de Waldner, Lee Radziwill, the Duke & Duchess of Windsor, Oscar de la Renta, Andy Warhol, Yves Saint Laurent, Doris Duke, Emilio Pucci, Cy Twombly, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, & Paloma Picasso. The articles were written by his partner Valentine Lawford. Until the time of his death, Horst spent most of his time traveling & photographing. In the1970s, he began working for House & Garden magazine as well as for Vogue.

Horst' career can be said to have reached Old Master status when the world's most famous person- Madonna, created her celebrated hymn to classic fashion photography with her single- Vogue in 1990. In the video directed by David Fincher, she posed as a recreation of Horst's most iconic fashion image, a model seen from behind, wearing a partially tied, back-laced corset made by Detolle.

He knew & photographed many of the major figures of the 20th century. He died at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, at 93 years of age.[