id: 323631 accession number: 2018.587 share license status: Copyrighted url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2018.587 updated: 2025-02-09 07:48:24.696000 The Spanish artist Salvador Dali. "In 1964, when the radio and newspapers announced that Dali had shaved his mustache, we were stunned! We rushed to Port Ligat, Dali's home. We couldn't bear the thought of Dali without his mustache and we had to see his new face. Fortunately, the information was wrong and Philippe and Dali concocted a photograph to show the world that Dali's mustache was still there, as strong as ever." Yvonne Halsman, Port Ligat, Spain, 1964. Philippe Halsman (American, 1906–1979). Gelatin silver print; image: 20.6 x 19.9 cm (8 1/8 x 7 13/16 in.); paper: 20.6 x 25.5 cm (8 1/8 x 10 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of George Stephanopoulos 2018.587 © Halsman Archive title: The Spanish artist Salvador Dali. "In 1964, when the radio and newspapers announced that Dali had shaved his mustache, we were stunned! We rushed to Port Ligat, Dali's home. We couldn't bear the thought of Dali without his mustache and we had to see his new face. Fortunately, the information was wrong and Philippe and Dali concocted a photograph to show the world that Dali's mustache was still there, as strong as ever." Yvonne Halsman, Port Ligat, Spain title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1964 creation date earliest: 1964 creation date latest: 1964 current location: creditline: Gift of George Stephanopoulos copyright: © Halsman Archive --- culture: America technique: gelatin silver print department: Photography collection: PH - American 1951-Present type: Photograph find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Philippe Halsman (American, 1906–1979) - artist Philippe Halsman American, b. Latvia, 1906-1979 Philippe Halsman, who came to photography through an interest in psychology, believed that making a successful portrait often depended more on what was said to the sitter than what was done with the camera. Throughout his career, he photographed the most influential cultural and political figures of his time. In addition to his accomplishments in portraiture, Halsman is known for whimsical, animated tableaux that include such fantastic elements as levitating furniture, flying cats, and suspended streams of water. One of his best loved publications, Philippe Halsman's Jump Book (1959), features famous personalities caught in midair. Leaving his native Latvia as a teenager to study electrical engineering at the Technische Hochschule in Dresden (1924-28), Halsman then moved to Paris to pursue a life in the arts. Beginning as a poet, he soon turned to photography and established a studio on the Left Bank where he worked on freelance projects for the French magazines Vogue, Vu, and Voilà. Just before German troops descended on Paris in 1940, he obtained an emergency visa with the help of Albert Einstein and left for New York, becoming a naturalized citizen nine years later. Halsman's bold graphic style, characterized by technical perfection and the penetrating power of its subjects, soon brought him great success in the United States—he was the only photographer to make the cover of Life magazine more than 100 times. Among Halsman's numerous commendations is a Life Achievement Award from the American Society of Magazine Photographers in New York (1975), an organization that he served as president in 1944 and 1954. Other awards include the Prize of Popular Photography, New York (1958), the Newhouse Prize (1963), and the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (1967). Halsman taught photography at the Famous Photographers School in Westport, Connecticut (1969-79), and the New School for Social Research, New York (1971). Halsman's taste for the surreal inspired several collaborations with his longtime acquaintance, the flamboyant artist Salvador Dali. Their book, Dali's Mustache: A Photographic Interview with Salvador Dali, was published in 1954. Other well-known books on Halsman include The Frenchman: A Photographic Interview with Fernandel (1950), The Candidate (1952), Halsman on the Creation of Photographic Ideas (1961), Halsman: Sight and Insight (1972), Halsman (1979), and Halsman Portraits (1983). Though he struggled in later years with bouts of depression and poor health, Halsman continued to work on portraits and commercial assignments. In 1979, shortly before his death, the International Center of Photography, New York, organized his first retrospective exhibition. A.W. --- measurements: Image: 20.6 x 19.9 cm (8 1/8 x 7 13/16 in.); Paper: 20.6 x 25.5 cm (8 1/8 x 10 1/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES