The Jeu du Paume is honoring the work of photographer extraordinaire, Frank Horvath, highlighting his prolific output from the early years of his career, from 1950-1965.
Horvat was born and raised in Abbazia, Italy to Jewish parents, and in 1939, the family moved to Lugano, Switzerland to escape Fascist Italy. He spent the next 16 years touring the world, living in Pakistan, India, England, and the United States, before he called Paris his home in 1955.
Horvat explored the underbelly of Paris, photographing dancers who worked in the strip and burlesque clubs in Pigalle, and prostitutes and pimps on the streets of Pigalle and rue Saint Denis. He was eventually discovered by fashion magazines, and between 1957 and 1962, he produced memorable, black and white photos for Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. The mostly street photos captured glamorous models wearing haute couture, while the backgrounds featured everyday people and workers.
In the 1970s, Horvath started to shoot with color film, leaving fashion photography behind, to become a serious photojournalist, traveling around the globe.
Horvath died in 2020, at the age of 92. He left a rich and dense legacy of his photos, documents, writings from his notebooks, and vintage publications at his home and studio Boulogne-Billancourt, just outside of Paris.
Frank Horvat -50-65
Until October 30, 2023
Jeu du Paume
https://jeudepaume.org/en/evenement/22063/
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