Richard Selby - Invitation to the dance II - vintage - 1979

Photographer: Richard Selby (1933, London)
Title: Invitation to the dance II
Year: 1979
Year of print: 1979, vintage
Signature / stamp: signature, signed, titled and numbered in marker on recto.
Print: black and white silver gelatin print on double weight Agfa baryta paper
Reference: Know Your Number, book published in 1991
Image size: 31.8 x 21.5 cm
Paper size: 42.0 x 31.5 cm

The last 4 images (a portrait of Richard Selby taken in 2015 at the age of 82, some Playboy covers, his book 'Know Your Number' and Richard Selby signing prints in 2015) are for reference only and are not part of this lot.

Condition: Excellent (10): no defects.
Vintage prints may have some dings, scratches, (negative based) spots (on print or on print based on negative) and waves; all normal for their age. Overall this print is in very good condition.

As a classically trained photographer, Richard Selby mastered the darkroom printing process like no other. His photographic prints have an unparalleled finesse, contrast and tonality. Unless otherwise stated, irregularities and reflections in the photographs shown are caused by scanning or photographing the prints.

BIOGRAPHY
Richard Selby was born on August 6, 1933, in London, England. He graduated from the University of Cambridge with an MA in History. He worked in London for several years at various jobs before enrolling at the University of Westminster to study photography. At the end of his first year, he took a summer job in a New York studio and found work there as an assistant to Art Kane, a famous editorial and advertising photographer. Two years later, he turned down invitations from Richard Avedon and Hiro and struck out on his own as a freelance editorial photographer in New York for magazines such as Look, Saturday Evening Post, Holiday, and Venture.

During an assignment for Venture he visited Munich and was invited by Willy Fleckhaus to work for the magazine Twen. Twen is still considered the most prestigious and influential magazine ever made. Besides Richard Selby and Will McBride, Twen invited freelance photographers such as Jeanloup Sieff, David Hamilton, Wim Wenders, Sam Haskins and Helmut Newton. He then divided his time between working for magazines in New York, London, Paris, Milan and Munich. For the German edition of Playboy he shot a number of playmates, including the first nude series shot outside the US. He also started doing some business work. He never aspired to advertising photography.

CUSTOMERS
Germany: Twen, Playboy, Jasmin, Eltern, Freundin, Quick and Stern.
England: Nova, Honey, Woman's Own and Over 21.
France: Depech Mode and Marie France.
Italy: Grazia and others.

KNOW YOUR NUMBER
In 1991 his first book of nudes 'Know Your Number' was published in Germany. Almost 5,000 copies of this book were sold, mainly in the USA. After a period of ill health after the publication a second revised and expanded edition of the book was published in 2001. Richard lives in Brighton, England, and is trying to finish a long-term project on artists.

SOLO SHOWS
• Books and Binding Gallery, New York, 1993
• Books and Binding Gallery, New York, 1994
• Mono Gallery, London, 1997
• Gwenola De Luze, Paris, 1998
• Sterts Art Centre, Cornwall, 1998
• Laurant Struck Gallery, Paris, 1999
• The Photo Cabinet Gallery, The Hague, 2012

GROUP SHOWS
• Portfolio Gallery, London, 1990
• MBM Gallery, New York, 1992

BOOKS
• Know Your Number (1st edition 1991, Monograph, Graphic+Photos+Art, Munich)
• NudeYork (Seibundo Shinkosha, Tokyo, 1995)
• Know Your Number (2nd edition 2001, Monograph, Catwalk Editions, Paris)

MAGAZINE ARTICLES
• Playboy, Germany, 1974-1975
• Photo Magazine, Germany, 1991
• Esquire, Germany, 1992
• Das Magazine, Germany, 1992
• PIC magazine UK, 1992
• Black and White Art Photography, UK, 1992
• Penthouse Forum, USA, 1991
• Cupid, Norway, 1994
• Libido, US, 1993
• Black+White, Australia, July 2003.
• British Journal of Photography, UK, March 2003
• Amature Photographer, UK, February 2003.

MAGAZINE COVER
• PIC magazine (January 1992, April 1992)
• Das Magazine (February 1992)
• Penthouse (January 1991)
• Esquire (February 1992)
• BW Art Photographer (September 1991)
• Over 21 (1976)
• British Journal of Photography (March 2003)
• Modern Photography (1964)
• Cupid (1994)
• Libido (1994)