The portraits of Christer Strömholm

Today is the birthday of the Swedish photographer Christer Strömholm (1918-2002). Here are some of his best portraits.

Fernand Léger by Christer Strömholm, Paris, 1949

Bob Rauschenberg by Christer Strömholm, Amsterdam, 1962

Martial Raysse by Christer Strömholm, Amsterdam, 1962

Man Ray by Christer Strömholm, Paris, 1960

André Breton by Christer Strömholm, Paris, 1951

Le Corbusier by Christer Strömholm, Paris, 1951

Alberto Giacometti by Christer Strömholm, Paris, 1960

Marcel Duchamp by Christer Strömholm, Cadaquez, 1963

Jean-Louis Barrault by Christer Strömholm, Paris, early 1950s

César Baldaccini by Christer Strömholm, Paris, 1965

Yves Klein by Christer Strömholm, Paris, 1960

Rotraut and Yves Klein by Christer Strömholm, Paris, 1960. The two, both visual artists, were married in 1962, and Klein died six months later.

Max Ernst by Christer Strömholm, Paris, 1963

A remarkable group portrait by Christer Strömholm from Amsterdam in 1962: Per-Olof Ultvedt, Robert Rauschenberg, Martial Raysse, Daniel Spoerri, Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle

Here's Christer Strömholm himself, in an impressive portrait by Sten Didrik Bellander from the 1950s

And a fine self-portrait of Christer Strömholm from the 1980s

Truman! Portraits of Truman Capote

Here are some of my favourite portraits of Truman Capote.

Truman Capote by Jean Mounicq, 1966

A polaroid of Truman Capote by Andy Warhol, 1979

Truman Capote by Henri Cartier-Bresson, New Orleans, 1947

Truman Capote by Arnold Newman, New York, 1977

Truman Capote by Irving Penn, 1948

Truman Capote by Richard Avedon, 1955

Truman's façade is definitely up in the Penn & Avedon portraits, but they both did more searching portraits later.

Here's Penn's portrait from 1965...

... and Avedon's from 1974.

Truman Capote & his bulldog in Portofino; a nice shot by Leonida Barezzi, 1950s. Capote was nicknamed Bulldog as a child, because he carried a pencil & notebook around, like the detective Bulldog Drummond.

Truman Capote & Andy Warhol by Mick Rock, 1979

Here's Truman Capote with Robert Blake & Scott Wilson on the set of In Cold Blood, photographed by Steve Schapiro, 1967

Truman Capote by Otto Stupakoff, 1970

Truman Capote by Carl Van Vechten, 1948. Capote was 23.

Truman Capote by Chris Smith, 1980. Such a sincere photo, & no mugging for the camera by Truman.

Truman Capote by Harry Langdon, Los Angeles, 1981

Truman Capote by Slim Aarons, 1958

Truman Capote by George Rose, 1980

One of the great Studio 54 photographs by Sonia Moskowitz: Jerry Hall, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote and Debbie Harry, June 7, 1979.

Portraits by André Ostier

André Ostier worked in photojournalism and fashion photography, but he is best known for his portraits of artists. He died in 1994.

André Ostier included a self-portrait in this 1963 shot of Marc Chagall in a Paris bar.

Pablo Picasso by André Ostier, 1948

Andy Warhol by André Ostier, 1982

Henri Matisse by André Ostier, 1941

David Hockney by André Ostier, 1975

Yves Saint-Laurent by André Ostier, Maison Christian Dior, Paris, 1959

Leonor Fini by André Ostier, Venice, 1951

Pierre Bonnard by André Ostier, 1941

Francis Bacon at the Café de Flore in Paris, 1982. A wonderful portrait by André Ostier.

Aristide Maillol by André Ostier, 1941

Christian Dior by André Ostier, 1950

Gertrude Stein by André Ostier, rue Christine, vers 1945

Here's André Ostier himself, by an unknown photographer, Spring 1957.


In 1940 Virgil Thomson wrote a Canon With Cadenza, entitled "Portrait of André Ostier". The two obviously hung out together in Paris before the war, perhaps at Gertrude Stein's place. I haven't been able to track down a portrait of Thomson by Ostier, but here's Ostier by Thomson: