Frank Horvat

A compact survey of the photographer Frank Horvat, best known for bringing a photojournalist style to his fashion photography. Frank Horvat (1928–2020) changed the course of fashion photography forever. The Italian-born photographer made his debut as a photojournalist in France, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.

It was there that he met Henri Cartier-Bresson, who encouraged him to pursue his photography career. By the mid-1950s, Horvat was collaborating with the biggest fashion magazines in the world, such as Elle, Vogue, and Jardin des Modes. Revolutionizing fashion photography through a more realistic lens, Horvat photographed models on the streets, in the squares, and alongside the locals of postwar Europe.

Horvat’s fresh and often imitated style, which brought reportage techniques and the 35mm film camera to the forefront of fashion photography, impressed designers and inspired fashion photographers for generations to come. Horvat’s work can now be found in permanent collections in prestigious institutions around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. With a foreword by Virginie Chardin, Frank Horvat, a new title in the renowned Photofile series, exhibits Horvat’s photographic opus through sixty full-page reproductions in a handsome and collectible pocket format.