Frank Horvat 'Givenchy Hat B'

Frank Horvat
1928-2020
'Givenchy Hat B'

archival pigment print, signed, editioned '6/30', and annotated 'EAIJ' in pencil in the margin, signed, credited, titled, dated, and annotated in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1958, printed in 2006
image: 22 by 33.3 cm (8⅝ by 13⅛ in.)
frame: 45.7 by 55.6 cm (18 by 21⅞ in.)

Condition Report:
Please note the colours and shades in the online catalogue illustration may vary depending on screen settings.

This photograph is in generally excellent condition. The print's tonality is somewhat violet overall. Under close examination, the following are visible: a few faint horizontal linear pigment marks that likely occurred during the printing process; and a small scuff in the upper left corner. 'Printed by myself, 2006 / with archival ink + paper' is annotated in pencil in the photographer's hand on the reverse. The reverse is faintly soiled and affixed to a mat with two hinges along the upper edge.

Catalogue Note:
“Horvat’s greatest models possess a nonconformist beauty, and their personalities shine through the pages of the magazines. Nevertheless, the woman in his most famous photograph remains an enigma. She stares at the lens, one eye visible under one flawless brow bone, the other obscured by the cascade of white silk flowers from her Givenchy hat. Unusually, it is not she who commands the attention of the other protagonists: around her, the men in top hats point their binoculars in the distance, towards a horse race” (Susanna Brown, ‘Une belle chimère : Frank Horvat et la mode’, Frank Horvat 50-65 (Paris : Jeu de Paume, 2022), p. 38). A major exhibition of Horvat’s work will be open from 16 June until 17 September 2023 at the Jeu de Paume in Paris.