Oriol Maspons - Oriol Maspons The Private Collection - 2006-2006

The Private Collection is the whim of a photographer devoted to feminine beauty; a tribute to women framed in an era that Oriol Maspons has experienced and savored immensely—the years of Gauche Divine, the modern and elitist Barcelona of the 60s and 70s, the hippie invasion, and the first mind-altering revelations; the golden age of the posh aristocracy immortalized by the author in a unique private collection starring those ‘pretty girls’ who served as his inspiration when he first picked up a camera.

Because Maspons, as he claims, became a photographer to pick up girls. And he did so in the years when a Photographer – with a capital ‘P’ – rubbed shoulders with the crème de la crème of the beautiful people. Artists, writers, editors, singers, bullfighters… they formed a circle of relationships that revolved around Barcelona, Ibiza, or Cadaqués, the settings for their exclusive gatherings where characters of the caliber of Salvador Dalí, Luis Miguel Dominguín, or Camilo José Cela roamed, accompanied by the most beautiful and daring women of the time.

Oriol Maspons has compiled over 70 images of ‘his girls’ in The Private Collection. Girls from Cadaqués, ‘cute girls’ from Barcelona, go-go dancers from the first Ibiza discos, waitresses, and well-to-do girls, immortalized with harmony and an extraordinary sense of humor, sometimes bordering on histrionics. Their poses reveal high doses of surrealism, as well as a subtle playfulness that hides tenderness, fetishism, and provocation. This is evident in the women he photographed at Dalí’s house – ladies dressed by Paco Rabanne – or the models he used to illustrate the famous covers of the Biblioteca Breve of Seix-Barral.

A nostalgic black and white kaleidoscope complemented by suggestive comments from the author – Former high-class ladies fallen on hard times, Refreshing chick, Beefy Normandy lass having breakfast, Expert French mannequin playing cat on a roof… – which exemplify Maspons’ magnificent sense of humor.

With a foreword by José Luis de Vilallonga in the book, the edition is completed with texts by friends and great connoisseurs of Maspons’ work. Singer Joan Manuel Serrat, photographer Carlos Pérez Siquier, editor Óscar Tusquets, and writers Juan Marsé or Francisco Umbral are some of the guest contributors to this book. The book has a great layout and excellent print quality. The text pages are printed on blue paper.

Book condition: Very good, Outside clean, black cloth without sunning, inside very clean, no markings, no foxing, no creased pages, no stains.