Frank Horvat
Frank Horvat is an internationally renowned fashion photographer, who has recently celebrated fifty years experience in the field. Throughout these years he has not only embraced fashion photography, but also been unafraid to experiment and adapt to new technologies, transcending the confines of photographic borders. His photography is diverse and considerably more complex than a cursory glance could reveal. He is perhaps best known for his spontaneity, trust and empathy, qualities that express themselves in his sophisticated photographs.
Frank Horvat was born in 1928 in Abbazia, which was then Italy but is now Croatia. Horvat studied drawing at the Breer Academy in Milan and at the age of fifteen he swapped a stamp collection for a 35mm camera and started his career as a journalist. The Italian magazine, 'Epoca' in 1951, published his first photo essay in 1951. He traveled the world during the early fifties, sending his work back to 'Paris Match', 'Life' and 'Realities' amongst other publications. In 1955, Frank Horvat moved to London and working for 'Life' and 'Picture Post', he was the first to apply the 35mm camera and reportage techniques to fashion photography, creating a fresh, new and realistic style. This influenced the development of fashion photography in England, France and the United States. In 1956 Frank Horvat settled in Paris, continuing to photograph fashion in a reportage style: real life situations, ambient lighting and 35mm cameras. He continues to live in France today.
Between 1958 and 1961 Frank Horvat was part of Magnum as an associate photographer. His French fashion photography is perhaps the most elegant and recognizable, his collection of work featuring designers such as Coco Chanel and Givenchy, Parisian nightclubs Le Sphynx and the Crazy Horse alongside well-known areas of Paris: the Champs-Elysees, Gare Saint-Lazare and Quai du Louvre. Frank Horvat has exhibited in Paris, London, Prague, Berlin and New York, contributing to every major publication including Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Elle, Glamour, German magazine Revue and French L'Officiel, amongst many more.
Frank Horvat has worked on many personal projects, which feature work from his travels around India and Pakistan, as well as his 'Portraits of Trees' and '1999: A daily report' which documented the last year of the millenium.