Untitled (costume designed by Hilaire Hiler), c. 1922
Gelatin silver print (likely printed 1945)
9 ¼ × 6 ⅝ in.
Signed "GBB 1945" on mount recto
February 3, 2025
Some photographs arrive on our doorstep as a mystery. When this photo was acquired it was purchased purely on the visual appeal of the costume, which nearly obscures the wearer and verges on total abstraction. While the photographer was an unknown name whose significance was clouded by the fog of time, the image had the unmistakable imprint of Paris between the wars, bringing to mind Pablo Picasso’s cubist ballet costume designs for Jean Cocteau. True enough, research revealed that the costume was designed by Hilaire Hiler.
Hilaire Hiler was an expat American artist who operated Le Jockey, the first avant-garde Parisian cabaret-club in Montparnasse, which was a favorite haunt of Man Ray, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Tristan Tzara, Henry Miller and the other heady bohemian figures who congregated in Paris during the 1920s. One of the features that made Le Jockey such a popular gathering place was Hiler’s lively murals, which were similar to the painted elements in this photograph, and adorned both the exterior and interior, creating a kind of modernist stage set for the nightly gatherings there.
This photograph embodies Hilaire Hiler’s other great passion: costume design. In his time Hiler was the foremost scholar of the history of costume, and published what was believed to be a complete bibliography of books on the subject. Hiler’s interest was not purely academic—this rare photograph from the early 1920s documents his radical costume designs for a stage production based upon a Hans Christian Andersen story.
Like so many great artists, Hilaire Hiler fled Europe as the specter of Nazi fascism loomed, returning to the United States. Knowing the equally creative and mischievous spirit amidst which the work was created, in the end it is fitting that an aura of mysteriousness still clings to this delightful print.
