Gorgeous Photos of Classic Beauties Taken From Between the 1940s and 1960s by Philippe Halsman

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Philippe Halsman (1906 – 1979) was born in Riga, Latvia. He studied engineering in Dresden before moving to Paris, where he set up his photographic studio in 1932.

Halsman’s bold, spontaneous style won him many admirers. His portraits of actors and authors appeared on book jackets and in magazines; he worked with fashion (especially hat designs), and filled commissions for private clients. By 1936, Halsman was known as one of the best portrait photographers in France.

Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, and Grace Kelly photographed by Philippe Halsman

Halsman’s career came to a dramatic halt in the summer of 1940, when Hitler’s troops invaded Paris. Through the intervention of Albert Einstein (who had met Halsman’s sister in the 1920s), Halsman obtained permission to enter the United States, and he arrived in New York in November 1940 with little more than his camera.

Halsman’s big break came when he met Connie Ford, a striking young model who agreed to pose in exchange for prints for her portfolio. When publicists at Elizabeth Arden saw Halsman’s photograph of Ford against an American flag, they used the image to launch a national campaign for “Victory Red” lipstick.

A year later, in the fall of 1942, Life asked Halsman to shoot a story on new hat design. To Halsman’s delight, his portrait of the model smiling through a feathery brim landed on the cover. One hundred more covers followed before the magazine ceased weekly publication in 1972.

These gorgeous photos of classic beauties are part of his work that Halsman shot from between the 1940s and 1960s.