From the Liveblog of
Monday, September 12, 2022
Photographer William Klein dies aged 96
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
American photographer William Klein, who made his mark with imagery of fashion and urban life, died in Paris on Saturday, aged 96, his son, Pierre Klein, says in a statement.
Klein, whose striking depictions of the restlessness and violence of city life helped revolutionize photography, died “peacefully,” the statement says.
Celebrated as one of the 20th century’s most influential artists, Klein also worked in film and fashion.
His death comes as a retrospective of his work draws to a close at New York’s International Center of Photography.
William Klein.
Photographie de mode, place de la Concorde
1961 Paris Vogue Fashion France pic.twitter.com/qOpL8vDi8P— 350k Paris Paname ???????? (@ParisAMDParis) September 12, 2022
Born into a New York family of ultra-Orthodox Jews in 1926, William Klein grew to love Europe during his military service.
He became a painter after World War II, studying under French artist Fernand Leger, and also had dreams of becoming an architect.
But Klein was inspired by photography after winning his first camera in a poker game, beginning immediately to shoot Paris monuments with the German-made Rolleiflex.
Some of his early almost abstract pictures caught the eye of Vogue artistic director Alexander Liberman, who hired Klein when the photographer was just 26.
The Times of Israel Community.