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Electric Beauty, Paris

Former TitleElectric Beauty, Paris (Surreal Composition with Woman and Hieronymus Bosch)
Artist Horst P. Horst (American, born Germany, 1906 - 1999)
Date1939
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 9 9/16 × 7 5/8 inches (24.29 × 19.37 cm)
Sheet: 10 × 8 inches (25.4 × 20.32 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.4031
SignedOn sheet verso, top, blue stamp: "photographed by HORST SEP 20 1939 / WILMABAARD"; On sheet verso, top, in red pencil: "HORST".
Inscribednone
MarkingsOn sheet recto, upper right corner, in negative: "H617-9"; On sheet verso, lower left corner, in pencil: "DV07".
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionWoman in a towel sitting in a chair; soaking her feet, brushing her teeth, hair in curlers, hairdryer on head and shaving legs. Surrealist paintings on wall behind her.Gallery Label
In this photograph, Horst P. Horst—best known for his fashion work for Vogue—parodies the demands of modern beauty rituals. When staging this picture, Horst tapped into the surrealist penchant for unexpected and provocative juxtapositions. In this instance, he playfully suggests that beauty and monstrosity intertwine, and highlights the “torturous” aspects of keeping up appearances.
Provenance
Prakapas Gallery, New York, NY;
Purchased from Prakapas Gallery by Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1994;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
Copyright© Horst Estate
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