Industry Icon: William Klein

William Klein: The Maverick Who Redefined Photography

Few artists have shattered the conventions of photography like William Klein. A visionary who blended chaos and beauty, Klein turned the camera into a tool of rebellion — transforming how we see cities, fashion, and modern life.

The small but perfectly formed Hackelbury gallery in London represents William Klein

Below are examples of Klein's pivotal Painted Contacts series

Early Life in New York

Born in New York City in 1926 to Hungarian-Jewish immigrant parents, Klein grew up amid the grit of Depression-era Manhattan. His family’s struggles and his experiences with antisemitism forged an acute awareness of social tension — something that later pulsed through his photographs. A gifted student, Klein graduated high school at 14 and studied sociology at City College of New York before serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. While stationed in Europe, he sketched cartoons for the Stars and Stripes military newspaper, discovering his talent for visual storytelling.

A Parisian Education in Art

After the war, Klein stayed in Paris, studying painting at the Sorbonne under modernist master Fernand Léger. Immersed in the avant-garde scene, he experimented with abstract forms and kinetic art. These explorations — merging motion, texture, and energy — would later shape his approach to photography. By the early 1950s, Klein exhibited in Milan, showing abstract panels that attracted critical attention and hinted at his restless creativity.

From Vogue to the Streets

In 1954, Alexander Liberman, the legendary art director of Vogue, invited Klein to join the magazine. His response to fashion was revolutionary. Instead of polished studio shoots, he staged models amid the noise of real city life — traffic, kids, pedestrians — turning glamour into performance. Simultaneously, Klein roamed his hometown streets with a camera, chasing unfiltered moments of chaos and comedy.

Life Is Good & Good for You in New York — A Visual Earthquake

Klein’s 1956 photo book, Life Is Good & Good for You in New York: Trance Witness Revels, changed photography forever.Shot with wide-angle lenses, tilted horizons, motion blur, and raw grain, it was a thrilling visual assault — part diary, part cinematic experiment.

Critics were divided: some called it anarchic, others genius. The book won the Prix Nadar in 1957 and cemented Klein as a pioneer of street photography. He went on to publish acclaimed city portraits of Rome, Moscow, and Tokyo, each capturing urban energy with unfiltered immediacy.

Film, Politics, and Provocation

Never content to stay still, Klein turned to filmmaking. His debut short, Broadway by Light (1958), is often cited as one of the earliest pop-art films. His features — Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (1966) and Mr. Freedom (1968) — mixed satire, politics, and surrealism, echoing the radical tone of his photographs. Across mediums, Klein championed the outsider’s eye — the messy, vivid, democratic truth of the street.

Until his death in Paris in September 2022, at age 96, he continued to paint, photograph, and challenge the medium he helped redefine.

Recommended Gallery www.hackelbury.co.uk