Around That Time
Horst at Home in Vogue: Discover how the fashion stars of the ’70s were living through the lens of Horst P Horst, one of the most prolific photographers of the 20th century.
By Condé Nast Archive
By Ivan Shaw
Elsa Peretti in Halston Pajamas, Vogue (1976-04-01) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
In 1962 Horst P. Horst, one of the most prolific photographers of the 20th century, found himself in the Southampton, Long Island, living room of one of the great swans of the Gilded Age, Consuelo Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill Balsan.
Home of Prince Stanislaw and Princess Lee Radziwill, Vogue (1971-07-01) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
By this point the German-born lensman had been shooting for Vogue for 30 years, his cooly elegant fashion pictures a mainstay of the magazine. Around this time, the Youthquake began rocking the world of fashion and Horst’s sense of la mode seemed to belong to a different era.
Karl Lagerfeld in His Apartment in Paris, Vogue (1974-09-01) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
Soon after her arrival at Vogue in 1962, Diana Vreeland, redirected Horst towards interiors. His first “Fashions in Living” assignment was chez Balsan. The accompanying text for this story, and many others, were penned by Valentine Lawford, Horst’s partner in work and life.
Mark Rothko Painting in the Annenberg's Florida Home, Vogue (1973-05-01) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
Horst’s photos of Balsan and her home go beyond portraiture; they preserve a grand, and fading, way of life. Other features, on Pauline de Rothschild, say, are more documentary—within the realm of the 1 percent, that is.
Perhaps it’s not at all surprising that Horst, heading into the latter stage of his career, would find himself photographing homes. His work in the arts began in the world of architecture and design in 1930, when he moved to Paris to apprentice for Le Corbusier.
Not enjoying the rigor of the architect and designer’s studio, Horst looked for other opportunities, the best of which presented itself in the person of Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, then Paris Vogue’s chief photographer.
Hoyningen-Huene took Horst under his wing, and by 1931 Horst’s credit was appearing alongside that of his mentor in the magazine. Horst spent the next three decades shooting fashion and portraits for numerous editions of Vogue.
In Valentino's Rome Apartment, Vogue (1970-04-15) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
Arguably his most famous and symbolic photograph, of a corset by Mainbocher, was taken on the eve of war just before Horst left Paris for the United States, where he lived for the rest of his life.
The team of Horst and Lawford were key contributors in the evolution of Vogue and helped Vreeland fulfill her vision.
Enid Annenberg Haupt in a Tree at her Palm Beach Home, Vogue (1973-05-01) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
As Vreeland later recalled, “One of the things I most wanted to do when I joined Vogue, was to produce articles about people in their houses and gardens, where they felt their best and most natural.” The globe-trotting duo were welcomed to some very impressive addresses indeed.
The globe-trotting duo were welcomed to some very impressive addresses indeed.
Living Room in the Home of Bill Blass, Vogue (1972-02-15) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
They documented the Agnelli’s Casa Agnelli in Turin, Italy; the Baron and Baroness de Rothschild outside Paris; the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in Paris; and the Carter Burdens in New York. Off the beaten path was a visit to Doris Duke’s Hawaiian hideaway, Shangri La.
A new privileged class emerged as the ’60s rolled towards the ’70s, and Vogue’s definition of society expanded to embrace the smart sophisticates of the worlds of art and fashion, like the painter Cy Twombly.
Horst photographed the palazzo the expatriate shared with his aristocratic wife, Tatiana, and son, Alessandro, in Rome.
Cy and Tatiana Twombly at Home, Vogue (1966-11-15) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
This portfolio, published in the November 15, 1966 issue of Vogue, is an exemplar of Horst’s “Fashion in Living,” series bringing together personality, decor, and art, with a veneer of glamour.
Horst also documented how the white-hot fashion design stars of the ’70s were living. A bearded and dark-haired Karl Lagerfeld, then designing for Chloé, was captured in the spare Deco splendor in of his Paris apartment.
In contrast, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s home, also in Paris, was a study in contrasts, including Africana objects and a herd of François-Xavier Lalanne sheep in the living room.
Horst didn’t seem to lose much momentum as the calendar pages turned. Among his final locations for the series was the stunning Manhattan duplex apartment of jewelry designer Paloma Picasso, the perfect setting for a subject as beautiful as any of her father’s artworks.
