The Getty Museum acquires William Helburn photographs

Staley-Wise Gallery is pleased to announce that The Getty Museum in Los Angeles has chosen ten William Helburn photographs to be included in its permanent collection.

William Helburn (1924-2020) was at the top of his profession from the early 1950s through the 1960s, with bylined covers and editorial images in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, LIFE, McCall’s, and many other magazines. Helburn also worked extensively in advertising, contributing memorable pictures to campaigns designed by such legendary art directors as Gene Federico, Robert Gage, Helmut Krone, and George Lois.

Helburn entered the fashion world in 1947 while studying graphic design with legendary art director Alexey Brodovitch. 1949 brought both the start of Helburn’s career, with his first published images in Harper’s Bazaar and Charm, and the launch of Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB), the agency that would spark advertising’s creative revolution. Helburn photographed and socialized with the world’s most beautiful women, including Dorian Leigh, Dovima, Suzy Parker, Jean Shrimpton, Barbara Mullen, Jean Patchett, Lauren Hutton, and Sharon Tate. He paired his success and rich social life with frequent turns on the road racing circuit, driving Ferraris at Sebring, Watkins Glen, Havana, and Nassau.

Helburn became a successful director of TV commercials in the early 1980s. Over a 30-year period, he won more than 45 professional awards including those from the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the Advertising Club of New York, and the Clio Awards.

He left the industry a decade later to raise his children in Connecticut and died in 2020 at the age of 96. Since then, his work has been exhibited worldwide.