MELVIN SOKOLSKY
Melvin Sokolsky was born in 1933 in New York, where he grew up and started his career as a photographer. He did not have an opportunity to get a professional education in this area, but he began to master his father's camera at the age of ten and, at just twenty-one years old, was invited to join the staff of Harper's Bazaar. His portraits of famous personalities appeared both in magazines and in museums around the world. Sokolsky was actively involved in advertising photography as a director, a photographer and a cameraman. For his fashion photos he received twenty-five Clios, as well as other awards in the field of advertising. Many of his advertising pieces are part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He gives lectures all over the world and acts as a Canon Ambassador.
BUBBLE ON THE SEINE, 1963
ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 50X40 CM EDITION #AP OF 25 PRINTED 2012 SIGNED VERSO BY THE AUTHOR IN PENCIL © MELVIN SOKOLSKY
In 1963, after being inspired by the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, Sokolsky shot his famous series with the model Simone D'Aillencourt dressed in couture gowns. She was portrayed traveling around Paris in a huge transparent plastic balloon. On the day of the photo session, the balloon ruined several pairs of designer shoes. The photos, which appeared in Harper's Bazaar, were a true sensation and remained some of the most prominent images in the history of fashion photography.