Sam Haskins
Sam Haskins, born Samuel Joseph Haskins, (November 11, 1926) is a photographer best known for his contribution to nude photography, pre-Photoshop in-camera image montage and his books, the most influential of which were Cowboy Kate and other stories (1965) and Haskins Posters (1973). Since 2000 he has focused on fashion photography for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Allure and New York magazine.
Youth
Sam Haskins was born in Kroonstad in the province of the Orange Free State of South Africa. His father was a goods train specialist on South African Railways. Early creative influences were fueled by an interest in magic tricks, kite making, drawing and the circus. A talented athlete, as a teenager Sam excelled at hurdling and trained with the circus, resulting in a job offer as a trapeze catcher.
Education
Formal training was at the Johannesburg Technical College where he did a general arts course with a photographic module. He then went on to study at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts in Bolt Court, later renamed the London College of Printing and now known as the London College of Communication.
Marriage and Children
Sam Haskins married Alida Elzabe van Heerden in 1952 and they have two sons; Ludwig (August 4th, 1955) and Konrad (January 27th, 1963). Alida gave up a career in fashion soon after their marriage to become Sam's business partner. She played a key role in the launch of his career by acting as a publishing agent for Five Girls when Sam was still an unknown photographer.
Career Summary
Haskins started his career as an advertising photographer in Johannesburg in 1952. He ran what was probably the first modern freelance advertising studio in Africa because agencies in Johannesburg at that time used in-house photographers for all their work. He produced commercial work across a very broad spectrum of photography from still life to industrial, fashion and aerial. His first formal creative output was a one man show at a popular Johannesburg department store called John Orrs in 1960. The exhibition featured black and white creative photography of models in the studio and included some photographs of dolls made by the young Elisabeth Langsch who later went on to become Switzerland's leading ceramist.
His international reputation and his signature photographic passions were established by four key books published in the 60's. Five Girls (1963) explored a fresh approach to photographing the nude female figure and contained important first explorations with black and white printing, cropping and book design which went on to become a key feature of all his subsequent books. Cowboy Kate (1964) was probably the first creative black and white book of the 20th century to deliberately explore black and white photographic grain as a medium for expression and image design. The books was highly influential at the time and went on to sell roughly a million copies worldwide and win the Prix Nadar in France in 1965. It continues to influence contemporary photographers, film makers, fashion designers and make up artists nearly five decades after it first came out.
A shortage of copies of the original edition which was selling for up to USD2,000 led Haskins to bring out a digitally remastered 'director's cut' version in October 2006 published by Rizzoli in New York. The new version of Cowboy Kate, apart from image editing and layout revisions, also features 16 pages of additional new images.
November Girl (1966) contained a number of key image collages which formed the basis of many graphic and surrealist experiments in the 1970s and 80s. African Image (1967) was a visual homage to the indigenous people, culture, landscape and wildlife of sub-saharan Africa. The images in the book represent a life long interest in photographing graphically stimulating environments and formally document Haskins' personal passion for indigenous craft. Sam broke bones on river rapids and wrote off two Volvo saloon cars on African dirt roads while shooting African Image. This meticulously constructed book, celebrating a love for sub-Saharan Africa is probably his most undervalued creative project, although it is coveted by serious collectors of African art and photography.
In 1968 Haskins moved to London and ran a studio in Glebe Place just off the King's Road. He worked here as an advertising photographer for a list of international consumer brands; (Pentax, Bacardi, Toppan, Honda, BMW, Haig Whisky, DeBeers, British Airways, Unilever and Zanders) and specialised in the art direction and shooting of calendars, especially for Pentax in Japan. Although Haskins endorsed Hasselblad for a short period in the late 60s and early 70s his loyalty to the medium format 6x7 camera from Pentax resulted in a rare long term association between a camera manufacturer and photographer. In the period from 1970 to 2000 the Pentax corporation produced 30 calendars of which Sam Haskins shot and art directed 15 editions including the millennium calendar. No other photographer was ever invited to contribute more than once. He is still involved with Pentax Forum in Tokyo who host exhibitions and supply him with cameras. His first contact came in 1967 when Pentax presented Haskins with a 35mm camera after hearing that he had shot African Image with a Mamiya.
In 1972 he produced his first colour book, Haskins Posters[1]. The large format publication contained pages printed on one side with a thick stiff paper and a soft glue binding allowing the pages to be removed and used as posters. Sam and his wife Alida successfully self published the book internationally, with their own publishing company, 'Haskins Press'. The book won a gold medal at the New York One Show. At the time the best known image from Haskins Posters, a girl's face superimposed on a apple with a bee near the stem, appeared on the cover or in an editorial of images of almost every major photographic magazine around the world. This image was part of a well publicised visual and graphic experimentation with the apple theme in the 70's that for a while resulted in photographic journalists nicknaming Haskins, 'Sam the Apple man'.
The images in Haskins Posters traversed a number of different creative themes that all became signature passions for Haskins' image making over the next three decades; graphically strong compositions of nudes characterised by a natural essence in the models while the image making explored themes of graphic experimentation, humour and sensual eroticism. While not often mentioned by writers, Haskins' has a recurring theme (rooted in his training as a painter) of creating tension in the surface of his photographs between flat graphic elements and 3D chiaroscuro. These results are often achieved with sophisticated lighting and/or double exposures. He also often sculpted and painted graphic elements for his photographs and drew inspiration from a combination of surrealism, illustration, film and modern graphic designers. A highly creative and design driven approach to lighting almost always plays a key role in Haskin's work, both in the studio and on location. He often developed complex lighting designs for a single specific shot that were never repeated. The most recent example of which is a fashion shoot [2] for New York magazine's 75th anniversary issue[3] shot in New York's Pier 57 studios in August 2006.
The ongoing graphic experiments first seen in Haskins Posters and related exhibitions at London's Photographer's Gallery and National Theatre resulted in a book called Photo Graphics[4] (1980). The title of the book coined a new term in photography that has since become widely used.
Haskin's next book, Sam Haskins á Bologna[5] (1984) resulted from an invitation by the mayor of Bologna to photograph the city. The publication was accompanied by an exhibition in the city. This project led to two more homages to visually rich locations shot over a series of visits; one in Kashmir (between 1992 and 1994) and another in Barcelona (1991).
In 2000 Sam and his wife Alida moved to the Southern Highlands in Australia and built the third house/studio of their partnership. The move away from London resulted in a renaissance in Haskins' fashion photography. While he has had a passion for fashion from the start of his career, and Cowboy Kate influenced fashion designers who openly credited Haskins, he had not been courted by the mainstream fashion world and it is fair to say that he also did not court them. A shoot for Yves Saint Laurant in Paris in 2000 resulted in a 'rediscovery' that led to a stream of assignments in London, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney working for fashion houses and magazines.
In December 2006, a month after his 80th birthday, the first retrospective exhibition of his work (albeit with a portraiture bias) opened at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra Australia[6]. This is also his first exhibition at a national museum/gallery. The show remains open until April 22nd 2007.
Sam Haskins is now concentrating on book production and exhibitions with images drawn from an archive spanning 5 decades plus contemporary work. At the same time he is cherry picking fashion assignments with a mixture of leading models and actresses as well as new faces.
Influences
Sam Haskins is unusual among photographers for also being recognised as an designer. He has on various occasions given tribute to the following artists as being an influence on his work.
Photographers
Designers & Typographers
- McKnight Kaufer
- Paul Rand
- Louis Dorfsman
- Willy Fleckhaus
- Alexey Brodovich
- Herb Lubalin
- Milton Glaser [13]
- Paul Rand [14]
- Saul Bass [15]
Painters
- René Magritte [16]
- Surrealism
- Dadaism
- Impressionism
- Post Impressionism
- 20th Century art from Paris
- Pop Art
Film Makers
- Federico Fellini [17]
- Carol Reed[18] for his directing of The Third Man[19]
- Sergei Eisenstein[20] primarily for the directing of Strike[21]
Famous Photographs by Sam Haskins
The following are (with links to the author's web site) examples of signature images from his career. All these photographs proved to popular with magazine and book editors and been published on multiple occasions.
- Gill from Five Girls in profile, 1963[22]
- The Cowboy Kate gunbelt, front view, 1965[23]
- The Cowboy Kate gunbelt, rear view, 1965[24]
- Masai and Pondo ladies in a recent double page spread with images taken from African Image, 1967[25]
- Mood swings, a recent spread that juxtaposes the front cover from Haskins Posters with a popular expressive face from November Girl, 1973 & 1966[26]
- The 'Apple Face' from Haskins Posters, probably the single most reproduced image by Sam Haskins, 1973[27]
- 'Lindy Run' from Haskins Posters, an image that typifies the dynamism of Haskins fashion photography, 1973[28]
- Delia with two fish, from a Pentax calendar[29] shot in the Seychelles, 1973[30]
- City scape montage from 'Sam Haskins a Bologna', 1984[31]
- Maria Carla Boscono shot for Vogue Japan in London 2002[32]
![[22]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Gill-Curl-02.jpg){kind=link}
![[23]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Kate-gunbelt-front-01.jpg){kind=link}
![[24]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Kate-gunbelt-rear-01.jpg){kind=link}
![[25]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Masai-and-Pondo-ladies.jpg){kind=link}
![[26]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Mood-Swings.jpg){kind=link}
![[27]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Big-Apple-Face.jpg){kind=link}
![[28]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Lindy-Run.jpg){kind=link}
![[30]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Delia-2-Fish.jpg){kind=link}
![[31]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Angel-over-House-Bologna.jpg){kind=link}
![[32]](http://www.haskins.com/Sam_Haskins_famous_photographs/Maria-Carla-for-Vogue.jpg){kind=link}
Bibliography
Books authored by Sam Haskins
| Five Girls | |
|---|---|
| Concept, Photography & Design | Sam Haskins |
| Format | 144 p, 350x270mm, Cased, Offset |
| Images | Black and white Photographs |
| Printed in | USA |
| Library of Congress catalogue No. | 62-20049 |
| Introduction by | Aaron Sussman |
| Hardcover Published 1962 | |
| Crown Publishing Inc. | New York |
| Bodley Head | London |
| Paperback | |
| Bantam Books | New York |
| Corgi | London |
| Cowboy Kate | |
|---|---|
| Concept, Photography & Design | Sam Haskins |
| Format | 160p, 350x270mm, Cased, Gravure |
| Images | Black and white Photographs |
| Printed by | Heliographia S.A., Lausanne |
| Library of Congress catalogue No. | 67-112870 |
| Introduction by | Norman Hall |
| Text by | Desmond Skirrow |
| Hardcover Published 1964 | |
| Crown Publishing Inc. | New York |
| Bodley Head | London |
| Edition Prisma | Paris |
| Europaische Bucherei | Bonn |
| Besige Bij | Amsterdam |
| Paperback | |
| Bantam Books | New York |
| Corgi | London |
| Europaische Bucherei | Bonn |
| Signed Limited Edition 1974 | |
| Haskins Press | London |
| November Girl | |
|---|---|
| Concept, Photography & Design | Sam Haskins |
| Format | 129 p, 350x270mm, Cased, Gravure |
| Images | Black and white Photographs |
| Printed by | Heliographia S.A., Lausanne |
| Library of Congress catalogue No. | 71-385000 |
| Text by | Desmond Skirrow |
| Hardcover Published 1966 | |
| Grossett & Dunlap | New York |
| The Bodley Head | London |
| Edition Prisma | Paris |
| Europaische Bucherei | Bonn |
| Paperback | |
| Bantam Books | New York |
| Corgi | London |
| African Image | |
|---|---|
| Concept, Photography & Design | Sam Haskins |
| Format | 160p, 350x270mm, Cased, Gravure |
| Images | Black and white Photographs |
| Printed by | Heliographia S.A., Lausanne |
| Library of Congress catalogue No. | (no number assigned) |
| Foreword by | L. Fritz Gruber |
| Hardcover Published 1967 | |
| Thomas Crowell | New York |
| Bodley Head | London |
| Haskins Posters | |
|---|---|
| Concept, Photography & Design | Sam Haskins |
| Front Cover Design/Typography | Alan Fletcher at Pentagram |
| Format | 32 p, 480x350mm, Soft Cover, removable pages |
| Images | Colour and Black and White Photographs |
| Printed by | Lichtdruck AG, Dielsdorf |
| Library of Congress catalogue No. | 73-176000 |
| Foreword by | Sam Haskins |
| Softback (main edition) Published 1972 | |
| Haskins Press | London |
| Thomas Crowell | New York |
| Fitzhenry | Toronto |
| Westside Ltd | Toronto |
| KKK | Tokyo |
| Europaische Bucherei | Bonn |
| Limited Edition Hardback Published 1972 | |
| Cover Design by | Paul Colsell at Pentagram |
| Photo Graphics | |
|---|---|
| Concept, Photography & Design | Sam Haskins |
| Format | 100 p, 310x245mm, Cased, Offset |
| Images | Black and white and colour photographs |
| Printed by | Rotovision, Geneva |
| Library of Congress catalogue No. | 82-126090 |
| Hardcover Published 1980 | |
| Rotovision S.A. | London |
| Rotovision S.A. | Geneva |
| Colucci Edizione | Milan |
| Nippon Geijutsu Shp. | Tokyo |
| Sam Haskins a Bologna | |
|---|---|
| Concept, Photography & Design | Sam Haskins |
| Format | 88p, 280x240mm, Soft Cover, Offset |
| Images | Black and white and Colour Photographs |
| Printed in | Bologna |
| Library of Congress catalogue No. | (no number available) |
| Introduction by | Profs. Carlo Gentile & Renzo Renzi |
| Hardcover Published 1984 | |
| Graphis Edizione | Bologna |
| Cowboy Kate (Director's Cut)* | |
|---|---|
| Concept, Photography & Design | Sam Haskins |
| Format | 194p, 350x270mm, Cased, Offset |
| Images | Black and white Photographs |
| Printed in | China |
| Library of Congress catalogue No. | 2006923016 |
| Foreword by | Philippe Garner |
| Introduction by | Norman Hall |
| Text by | Desmond Skirrow |
| Hardcover Published 2006 | |
| Rizzoli | New York |
- 'Cowboy Kate and other stories - Director's Cut' published in 2006 is entirely digitally remastered by the author with edits to the original story and 16 additional pages of images. Printed in offset litho as opposed to the original which was photo gravure printed in Switzerland.
Books Featuring Images by Sam Haskins
| Year | City | Title | Editor/Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Tokyo | Photography of the World | Heibonsha Ltd |
| 1966 | Cape Town | Silver Images | Dr A Bensusan |
| 1966 | London | British Journal of Photography Annual | |
| 1966 + '68, '71-'75, '77-'82, '84 | Zurich | Photographis | Walter Herdeg |
| 1968 | London | British Journal of Photography Annual | |
| 1970 | Geneva | Art Director's Index to Photographers | |
| 1970 +'71, '73, '75, '77 | Tokyo | Pentax Forum | Pentax |
| 1970 | Munich | 4 Meister der Erotischer Fotografie | Photokina |
| 1970 | Cologne | Photokina Bilder und Texte | Photokina |
| 1971 | London/New York | Views on Nudes | Bill Jay |
| 1974 | Zurich | Graphis Posters | Walter Herdeg |
| 1974 | New York | The One Show | New York Art Director's Club |
| 1974 | Zurich | Graphis Posters | Walter Herdeg |
| 1975 | Freiburg | International Trienalle | |
| 1976 | London | Graphis Glamour Calendar Art | Michael Colmer |
| 1977 | London | Photography 35mm Camera | R H Mason |
| 1977 | Tokyo | Asahi Pentax Annual | Pentax |
| 1977 | Cologne | Geschigte der Fotografie im 20 lh | Peter Tausk |
| 1977 | London | Masterpieces of Erotic Photography | |
| 1978 | Freiburg | International Triennale | |
| 1978 | Brno | Brno Biennale '78 | 8th Graphic Art |
| 1978 | Cologne | Dumont Foto 1 | Fotokunst Int. |
| 1978 | London | The Visual Dictionary of Sex | MacMillon |
| 1978 | London | Modern Publicity | |
| 1979 | London | The Erotic Arts | Peter Webb |
| 1980 | Zurich | Graphis, Photographics | William B McDonald |
| 1981 | Milan | Women in the Magic Mirror | Bert Hartkamp |
| 1982 | London/New York | The Dictionary of Visual Language | Philip Thompson & Peter Davenport |
| 1983 | Cambridge | The Autograph Book | |
| 1984 | Hamburg | Die Schonene Geschopfe Tierfoto | Stern |
| 1984 | Hamburg | Der Erotische Augenblik | Stern Bibliotek |
| 1985 | Munich | Das Akt Foto | Muncher Stadtmuseum |
| 1986 | Schaffhaussen | Ansichten vom Korper | Michael Kohler |
| 1987 | London | The Naked and the Nude | Jorge Lewinsky |
| 1987 to 1997 inclusive | Tokyo | Pentax Annual | Pentax |
| 1989 | Rochester | Professional Photographic Illustration | LoSapio |
| 1990 | New York | Angels - An Endangered Species | Malcolm Godwin |
| 1990 | North Abbot | The Tree | Peter Wood |
| 1995 | Munich | Twen, Revision einer Legende | Michael Koetzle |
| 1997 | Paris | Love in the 20th Century | F. Montreynaud |
| 1997 | Munich | Willy Fleckhaus | Michael Koetzle & Carsten M Wolf |
| 1998 | Munich | Nude Photography | Peter-Cornel Richter |
| 2000 | New York | Cross | Kelly Klein |
| 2000 | USA | Emerging Bodies / Polaroid | Barbara Hitchcock |
| 2004 | Charlestown | Mary McFadden A life in Haute Couture | Mary McFadden & Ruta Saliklis |
| 2004 | Paris | Belles en Vogue |
Sam Haskins - Art History and Criticism
| Year | City | Book Title | Author | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Paris | La Photo | Chenz & Jeanloup Sieff | Denoël |
| 1980 | London | Photography in the 20th Century | Petr Tausk | |
| 1983 | London | How Famous Photographers Work | Jack Schofield | |
| 1985 | Prague | Creative Colour Photography | Petr Tausk | |
| 1986 | Frankfurt | Modern Colour Photography '36-'86 | ||
| 1987 | London | Masters of Photography | D. Mrazkova | Hamlyn |
| 1996 | New York | Art Fundamentals - Theory & Practice | Ocvirk Stinson | |
| 1997 | Oxford | The Story of Photography | Michael Langford | |
| 2001 | New York | Masters of the 20th Century* | Mervyn Kurlansky | Graphis |
| 2004 | Gothenburg | The Open Book - A history of the photographic book from 1878 | Andrew Roth | |
| 2005 | Switzerland | The Worlds Top Photographers - Nudes. | Anthony la Sala |
- Masters of the 20th Century is a book featuring graphic designers and typographers with the work of only two photographers, Sam Haskins and Rankin Waddell.
Awards
Text and images
| Year | City | Award | Presented for; | Award Organisation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Paris | Prix Nadar | Cowboy Kate and other stories | Prix Nadar |
| 1969 | Jerusalem | Silver Medal | African Image | International Art Book Competition |
| 1974 | New York | Gold Award | Haskins Posters | New York Art Director's Club |
| 1980 | New York | Book of the Year | Photo Graphics | Kodak |
Solo Exhibitions
| Year | City | Exhibition | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Johannesburg | Photographic Illustration | Orrco Theatre |
| 1970 | Tokyo | Sam Haskins | Pentax Gallery |
| 1970 | Tokyo | Sam Haskins '70 | Isetan Gallery |
| 1972 | London | Haskins Posters | Photogephers Gallery |
| 1973 | Paris | Haskins Posters | FNAC Gallery |
| 1973 | Tokyo | Haskins Posters | Isetan Gallery |
| 1974 | Amsterdam | Haskins Posters | Canon Gallery |
| 1974 | London | Pentax Calendar '75 | Pentax Gallery |
| 1976 | Tokyo | Scandinavian Landscapes | Isetan Gallery |
| 1976 | London | Calendar '77 | Pentax Gallery |
| 1979 | London | New Work | Pentax Gallery |
| 1980 | London | Photo Graphics | National Theatre |
| 1980 | London | Photo Graphics | Kodak Gallery |
| 1980 | Norwich | Photo Graphics | Sainsbury Centre |
| 1980 | Bath | Photo Graphics | RPS Gallery |
| 1981 | Glasgow | Photo Graphics | Hillhead Gallery |
| 1981 | Rotterdam | Photo Graphics | Pentax Gallery |
| 1981 | Zurich | Photo Graphics | Pentax Gallery |
| 1981 | Tokyo | Photo Graphics | Pentax Forum |
| 1981 | New York | Photo Graphics | Neikrug Gallery |
| 1984 | Bologna | Sam Haskins a Bologna | Galleria d'Accursio |
| 1985 | Tokyo | The Best of Sam Haskins | Pentax Forum |
| 1986 | Osaka | The Best of Sam Haskins | Printemps |
| 1987 | London | Graphic Work | Saatchi & Saatchi |
| 1987 | Tokyo | Calendar '88 | Pentax Forum |
| 1990 | Tokyo | The Image Factor | Pentax Forum |
| 1990 | Osaka | The Image Factor | Pentax Forum |
| 1991 | Auckland | The Image Factor | Conference Centre |
| 1991 | Sydney | The Image Factor | Conference Centre |
| 1991 | Hong Kong | The Image Factor | Conference Centre |
| 1992 | Tokyo | Remember Barcelona | Pentax Forum |
| 1992 | Osaka | Remember Barcelona | Pentax Gallery |
| 1992 | Glasgow | Now & Then | MNS Photocolor |
| 1993 | Tokyo | Hearts | Pentax Forum |
| 1993 | Osaka | Hearts | Pentax Gallery |
| 1996 | Tokyo | Sam Haskins - Monochrome | Pentax Forum |
| 1996 | Osaka | Sam Haskins - Monochrome | Pentax Gallery |
| 1999 | London | Innovations & other stories | Focus Gallery |
| 2000 | Berlin | Image2 | Gallery Argus Fotokunst |
| 2003 | New York | Sam Haskins | Michael Gallagher Gallery |
| 2004 | Paris | Sam Haskins | Marlat |
| 2004 | Amsterdam | Sam Haskins | Gallery Wouter van Leeuwen |
| 2006-2007 (Dec 8th - April 22nd) | Canberra | Sam Haskins - Portraits & Other stories[33] | National Portrait Gallery |
Group Exhibitions
| Year | City | Exhibition | Gallery |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Cologne | 4 Masters of Erotic Photography | Photokina '70 |
| 1970 | Europe | 4 Masters of Erotic Photography | (Toured Europe) |
| 1972 | London | Who Are You | Gimpel Fils Gallery |
| 1973 | Hamilton (Canada) | Top 10 Photographers | Mc Masters University |
| 1985 | Munich | Das Akt Foto | Stadtmuseum |
| 1986 | Germany | Das Akt Foto | (Toured Germany) |
| 1986 | Cologne | 50 yrs. Modern Colour Photography | Photokina |
| 1989 | Prague | 150 Years of Photography | Narodni Gallery |
| 1995 | Munich | Twen Magazine | Stadtmuseum |
Documentaries
| Year | City | Title | Production Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | London | Sam Haskins | William Webb |
| 1987 | Locarno | Grandii Fotografi | Polyvideo SA |
| 1990 | London | Sam haskins - Pentax 67 | Luke Jeans |
External Links
Official Web Site www.haskins.com
Offical Blog www.samhaskinsblog.com