MONTCLAIR, NJ.- The Montclair Art Museum presents Phillippe Halsman: American Artists, on view through January 14, 2007. One of the leading portrait photographers of the twentieth century, Philippe Halsman was best known for his provocative, penetrating portrayals of celebrities, politicians, and intellectuals which graced the pages of such major magazines as Life, Look, Esquire, and the Saturday Evening Post during the 1940s through the 70s. His portraits of leading American artists and cultural figures such as Warhol and O'Keeffe will be featured in this exhibition. Leading musical figures such as Marion Anderson and Louis Armstrong will be featured, as well as the pioneering dance figure Martha Graham, and the photographers Ansel Adams, Edward Steichen, Weegee, and Margaret Bourke-White. Also on view will be a self-portrait of Halsman and a family portrait which includes his daughter Irene Halsman, an artist in her own right, who resides in Montclair and is co-executor of the Halsman estate from which most of the photographs in the show are derived.

Commenting on his own work, Halsman observed, "This fascination with the human face has never left me. . . . Every face I see seems to hide and sometimes, fleetingly, to reveal the mystery of another human being. . . . Capturing this revelation became the goal and passion of my life."