Stephen Glass (photographer)

Stephen Glass
Born
Budapest, Hungary
Died(1990-08-23)23 August 1990
Paddington, London, England
NationalityBritish / Hungarian
Known forNude photography

Stephan Glass, more commonly known as Stephen Glass, was a Hungarian-British photographer best known for his nude studies.[1]

Early career

He was born in Hungary to Jewish parents. After three years of intensive study in commercial art schools in Budapest, he earned his living as a designer, cartoonist, and painter. At the end of the First World War, he left Hungary for Germany,[2] where he worked as art editor for the leading evening newspaper in Berlin[3] His younger brother Zoltán, who moved to Berlin in 1925,[4] founded the advertising photography agency, Reclaphot, and the Autophot agency, which specialised in automotive photography. Together with Peter Petersen, they took photographs for such firms as Daimler-Benz, Fiat and Auto Union. As Hungarian Jews, however, Stephen and Zoltán found working in Germany increasingly problematic and they eventually emigrated to England,[5] where they shared a photography studio, in London.[6]

Life in London

In the 1940s and 1950s, Stephen specialised in photographing nudes for such magazines as Health and Efficiency and The Naturist.[7] In addition, his work regularly featured in continental magazines such as Paris Hollywood, Femina and Modelstudier making him one of the most prominent photographers of the nude at the time.[citation needed] The models, June Palmer and Pamela Green both posed for him, and he frequently used Spielplatz nudist camp in Bricket Wood as a location. In 1950 he photographed the first Miss Venus contest at Spielplatz. It was the year Pamela Green won.[8]

Glass would often use his flat as a studio. It was on Old Church Street, less than a ten-minute walk from his brother's studio on the King's Road, London.[9][10]

In addition to magazines, his work appeared in a series of books published by The Naturist, such as Pool of Enchantment (1950), Beauty and Naturism, and Sussex Maidens (1949).[11] Stephen Glass died 23 April 1990.[12]

The National Portrait Gallery holds one of his works, a 1930s photo of "Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Bt".[13]

Books published by The Naturist

Books published by The Naturist for which Stephen Glass provided the photography.

  • Rosemary Andre, My Life Story, The Naturist Ltd, 1945
  • Michael Rutherford, British Naturism, The Naturist Ltd, 1946
  • Roy Wyatt, Sussex Maidens, The Naturist Ltd, 1949
  • Anne Seton, Pool of Enchantment, The Naturist Ltd, 1950
  • Charles Sennet, Nudist Life in Spielplatz, The Naturist Ltd, 1956
  • Melvyn Oakdale, The Mystery of Naturism, The Naturist Ltd, 1956
  • Stewart Douglas, Beauty and Naturism, The Naturist Ltd,
  • Ronald Mason, Eve in the Sun, The Naturist Ltd,
  • Douglas Stewart, Ideal Manhood, The Naturist Ltd

References

  1. ^ Nudist Camp Follies. Wolfbait Books. 25 March 2019. p. 7. ISBN 9781999744182.
  2. ^ Klinger, D.M. (1991). Die Erotische Fotografie in den 50er Jahren 19 - Stephen Glass. DMK-Verlag. ISBN 3923642652.
  3. ^ Glass, Stephen (January 1951). "How I Take My Naturist Pictures". Health and Efficiency.
  4. ^ Zoltán Glass: Speed and Spirit. Hatje Cantz Verlag. 2001. p. 12. ISBN 9783775790505.
  5. ^ Zoltán Glass: Speed and Spirit. Hatje Cantz Verlag. 2000. p. 20. ISBN 9783775790505.
  6. ^ Glass, Stephen (July 2020). Nymphs and Naiads. Wolfbait Books. ISBN 9781916215122.
  7. ^ Forcer, Tim (October 2020). "Raising a Glass". H&E Naturist: 55.
  8. ^ "Miss Venus 1950". Pamela Green: Never Knowingly Overdressed. 3 April 2019.
  9. ^ Glass, Zoltán (1959). How to Photograph Beauty. Whitestone.
  10. ^ Glass, Stephen (2019). Nudist Camp Follies Volume I. Wolbait. ISBN 9781999744182.
  11. ^ "Stephen Glass as Never Before". N, the Magazine of Naturist Livin. 39 (2). 2019.
  12. ^ Amazons of Yesteryear. Wolfbait Books. 2017. p. 9. ISBN 9781999744113.
  13. ^ "Stephen Glass (died 1990), Photographer". National Portrait Gallery.