Michael Joseph (1941-) - Little cowboy, portrait
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Selected by Kai Brückner
Over 35 years' experience; former gallery owner and Museum Folkwang curator.
Estimate € 350 - € 450
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Description from the seller
Michael Joseph
Little Cowboy, West Central St, London
Photo taken in the 1960s
Original silver gelatin print, signed in pencil
In Little Cowboy, Michael Joseph captures childhood not as sentiment, but as serious theatre.
A young boy stands square to the camera, wearing a US Marshal’s hat that is clearly too big for him — its brim dipping low, its fringe brushing the line between play and performance. His expression is calm, unsmiling, and utterly self-possessed. There is no attempt to charm. No instruction to grin. Joseph allows the child to remain exactly as he is.
The photograph sits at a fascinating crossroads: costume and identity, innocence and aspiration, fantasy and the hard edges of post-war London streets. What might be playful dress-up becomes something more ambiguous — a moment where childhood briefly rehearses adulthood, authority, and belonging.
Joseph’s restraint is key. The neutral background, shallow tonal palette and centred framing keep the focus unwavering. Texture is everything: the felt of the hat, the delicate fringe, the smooth planes of the boy’s face. The result is an image that lingers not because it explains itself, but because it refuses to.
Like the passage of time on a human face, the surface of the print bears gentle signs of its age — subtle undulations and soft creases accrued over more than sixty years — not flaws, but the quiet evidence of a life lived.
This work belongs firmly within Joseph’s humanist tradition — attentive, uncondescending, and deeply respectful of its subject, no matter how young. It stands alongside his social scenes and portraits as further evidence of a photographer instinctively drawn to people at moments of becoming.
A rare and affecting image of childhood observed, not directed.
Mounted and framed (36 cm high × 28.5 cm wide)
Signed by the artist
The print will be packed with archival care and genuine devotion, ensuring this singular historical photograph is passed on with the seriousness it deserves.
#MichaelJoseph
#LittleCowboy
#1960sLondon
#VintagePhotography
#ChildhoodInFocus
#HumanistPhotography
#StreetPortrait
#SilverGelatinPrint
#PostWarBritain
#InnocenceAndIdentity
#UnposedPortrait
#PhotographicHistory
#CollectorsPhotography
#QuietMoments
#LondonStreets
#TimelessImage
#ArtOfObservation
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. Over those decades, he produced an extraordinary body of work—his most widely recognised image being the iconic Beggars Banquet gatefold for the Rolling Stones.
My ongoing mission is to share and celebrate what we call “the other photos”: the lesser-known but no less compelling images from his archive. These are the works that lived beyond the headlines—test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, and quieter, more personal photographs, all made with his characteristic intensity, discipline, and devotion to craft.
Much of their atmosphere comes from the darkroom itself. These are photographs shaped by light, timing, and handwork: intricate group compositions, sculptural still lifes, and moments that invite the viewer to linger and look again. Variety is central to the archive, and I frequently offer unique, one-off pieces that exist nowhere else.
I hope you enjoy discovering my father’s work as much as I enjoy sharing it, and that you find here not just an image, but a genuine piece of photographic history.
All works are dispatched carefully protected, and packed with devotion and care, appropriate to a one-off historical photographic print.
US purchasers please note: Customs and excise charges are paid at source and included in the postage fee. No further charges should be due on delivery, unless regulations change.
Michael Joseph
Little Cowboy, West Central St, London
Photo taken in the 1960s
Original silver gelatin print, signed in pencil
In Little Cowboy, Michael Joseph captures childhood not as sentiment, but as serious theatre.
A young boy stands square to the camera, wearing a US Marshal’s hat that is clearly too big for him — its brim dipping low, its fringe brushing the line between play and performance. His expression is calm, unsmiling, and utterly self-possessed. There is no attempt to charm. No instruction to grin. Joseph allows the child to remain exactly as he is.
The photograph sits at a fascinating crossroads: costume and identity, innocence and aspiration, fantasy and the hard edges of post-war London streets. What might be playful dress-up becomes something more ambiguous — a moment where childhood briefly rehearses adulthood, authority, and belonging.
Joseph’s restraint is key. The neutral background, shallow tonal palette and centred framing keep the focus unwavering. Texture is everything: the felt of the hat, the delicate fringe, the smooth planes of the boy’s face. The result is an image that lingers not because it explains itself, but because it refuses to.
Like the passage of time on a human face, the surface of the print bears gentle signs of its age — subtle undulations and soft creases accrued over more than sixty years — not flaws, but the quiet evidence of a life lived.
This work belongs firmly within Joseph’s humanist tradition — attentive, uncondescending, and deeply respectful of its subject, no matter how young. It stands alongside his social scenes and portraits as further evidence of a photographer instinctively drawn to people at moments of becoming.
A rare and affecting image of childhood observed, not directed.
Mounted and framed (36 cm high × 28.5 cm wide)
Signed by the artist
The print will be packed with archival care and genuine devotion, ensuring this singular historical photograph is passed on with the seriousness it deserves.
#MichaelJoseph
#LittleCowboy
#1960sLondon
#VintagePhotography
#ChildhoodInFocus
#HumanistPhotography
#StreetPortrait
#SilverGelatinPrint
#PostWarBritain
#InnocenceAndIdentity
#UnposedPortrait
#PhotographicHistory
#CollectorsPhotography
#QuietMoments
#LondonStreets
#TimelessImage
#ArtOfObservation
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. Over those decades, he produced an extraordinary body of work—his most widely recognised image being the iconic Beggars Banquet gatefold for the Rolling Stones.
My ongoing mission is to share and celebrate what we call “the other photos”: the lesser-known but no less compelling images from his archive. These are the works that lived beyond the headlines—test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, and quieter, more personal photographs, all made with his characteristic intensity, discipline, and devotion to craft.
Much of their atmosphere comes from the darkroom itself. These are photographs shaped by light, timing, and handwork: intricate group compositions, sculptural still lifes, and moments that invite the viewer to linger and look again. Variety is central to the archive, and I frequently offer unique, one-off pieces that exist nowhere else.
I hope you enjoy discovering my father’s work as much as I enjoy sharing it, and that you find here not just an image, but a genuine piece of photographic history.
All works are dispatched carefully protected, and packed with devotion and care, appropriate to a one-off historical photographic print.
US purchasers please note: Customs and excise charges are paid at source and included in the postage fee. No further charges should be due on delivery, unless regulations change.
Details
Date of print
1967
Artist
Michael Joseph (1941-)
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Title of artwork
Little cowboy, portrait
Condition
Original State
Technique
Gelatin-silver print
Height
18.5 cm
Edition
Authentic print
Width
24 cm
Signature
Hand signed
Genre
Portrait
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