buygay.com

Grady Harp wrote on 06/26/2011:

George Platt Lynes (15 April 1907 - 6 December 1955), American fashion and commercial photographer, was a legend in his own time. He was one of the most sought after fashion photographers as well as the artist selected by such diverse luminaries as Yul Brynner, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, Tennessee Williams, George Tooker, Orson Welles, Diana Vreeland and a host of others to capture their personalities for posterity. But in his private life he elected to photograph the male nude, almost always in a studio setting complete with props, dramatic lighting, references to mythological characters, and poses that modeled a striking resemblance to the ballet figures whom he also photographed for archival or publicity purposes.

This fine Rizzoli publication is important not only as an excellent reconstruction of the images captured by Lynes, but also because it represents the first publication of many of the images that were either never printed or published - in other words, this book provides the premiere of many of George Platt Lynes most secret images. The works are sculptural and in keeping with the timeframe during which they were created they are not presented as erotic ideas. This work could be considered 'cold' by some critics, but for the photography aficionado this collection is the a representation of the consummate art of one of the last centuries great photographic artists.

Essays by art historian/photographer Steven Haas, George Platt Lynes II (the artist's nephew) and Allen Ellenzweig provide learned insights to both the man and his art. George Platt Lynes died of lung cancer in 1955 at the young age of 48. He was and remains an icon.