Oh - to have been there! In the Golden Fifties… one was there, and he knew them all: Edward Quinn (1920 - 1997). Now teNeues publishes a small and charming booklet, where one finds them all, Brigitte Bardot, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant, Steve McQueen, Alain Delon, Marlon Brando, Romy Schneider and countless more. Not to mention the trusting and good friend of the photographer, the unequalled Pablo Picasso, whom Quinn accompanied to his death in 1972. "Toi, tu sais faire un portrait - you know to to a portray“, the great painter once said to his friend with the camera - and he was right, as this book easily proves.
Quinn´s dashing persona - somewhere between Cary Grant - who, needless to say, sat for him - and the Duke of Windsor, slim, tall, elegant, with a fine mustache - might help him to blend in with the Jet Set. The Irishman, born Éamonn Ó Cuinn, played Hawaii-guitar and went on to the Royal Air Force. When he came to the Côte d’Azur he photographed statesmen, Glamour Girls and Playboys as well as celebrities out of Art, Music and Literature.
His most impressive shots are perhaps those of a yet unknown Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly´s first rencontre with Prinde Rainier and a young Brigitte Bardot. Picasso, T. S. Eliot and Gary Cooper were also captured on film. With his supreme technique, his patience and lots of charm Quinn froze unforgettable moments of the post-war Riviera. There the Jet Set flocked, to relax - and party hard. And in the mists of it all: Edward Quinn.
„Riviera Cocktail, Edward Quinn - Côte d'Azur Jet Set of the 1950“ is the name of the book, showing an Oeuvre between Cocktail- and Poolparty, all in refined, defined and clear B/W photographs. Originals were to be seen at Bucerius Kunstforum in Hamburg, proving one defining characteristic of the photographer: His pictures, full of life and tongue-in-cheek, are and are to be remembered. So it´s no surprise that the Quinn Archive comprises 150000 (!!!) negatives, being shot by the artist between 1950 til 1970.
“Edward Quinn brought artistry to celebrity photos.“
People Magazine wrote in Quinns obituary. In Riviera Cocktail, it is clearly to be seen.

more information: www.teneues.com