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Philippe Halsman, a remarkable foremost black and white portrait photographer started his career in the field of photography in pre-war Paris , and he is one of the first contributing members of Magnum Photos.

The French press referred to Philippe Halsman as the best portrait photographer in Paris. When the Nazis approached Paris, Halsman’s family had to leave the country. His friend, Albert Einstein, helped Philippe, obtain visa, including him on the list of the most significant European artists, writers and scientists. He worked as a fashion and portrait photographer for magazines, books etc. and met Salvador Dali in 1941. As it turned out, both of them were closely bound by similar artistic strivings and exceptional thirst for experimentation. The sessions with Dali resulted in a lifetime of friendship and collaboration.


Dali Skull(1951)
Halsman’s portraits might be characterized as a personification of the hopes and ideals of his epoch. The master has managed to focus his camera on each face deeply, and with great respect, in order to reveal the spirit of his subjects.
Apart from his stunning portraits, Halsman developed a philosophy of jump photography, which he called “Jumpology”.Early in the 50’s, Halsman began to ask his subjects to jump for his camera. These unique, witty and energetic images have become an important part of his photographic legacy.
Philippe Halsman is quite possibly the only photographer to have made a career out of taking portraits of people jumping. But he claimed the act of leaping revealed his subjects’ true selves.

Dali Atomicus (1948)

Popcorn Nude (1949)


Jack-of all-trades (Jean Cocteau, 1948)



Alfred Hitchcock (1963)