Michael Joseph (1941-) - Smirnoff office party
04
days
03
hours
56
minutes
14
seconds
Current bid
€ 75
No reserve price
Expert
Selected by Kai Brückner
Over 35 years' experience; former gallery owner and Museum Folkwang curator.
Estimate € 500 - € 600
13 other people are watching this object
 Bidder 2183 | €75 | |
|---|---|---|
 Bidder 9274 | €70 | |
| Bidder 2183 | €41 | |
Catawiki Buyer Protection
Your payment’s safe with us until you receive your object.View details
Trustpilot 4.4 | 129291 reviews
Rated Excellent on Trustpilot.
Description from the seller
“Smirnoff Office Party” — Michael Joseph
London, 1970s — Original C-type Print on glossy paper, signed in gold pen
Print size: 50 cm wide × 40 cm high
Edition: One of three in this size
A spectacularly theatrical tableau from photographer Michael Joseph, Smirnoff Office Party brings together everything that made him one of the most distinctive visual storytellers of his era: opulence, chaos, wit, and a masterful orchestration of complex group scenes.
Every inch of the frame brims with life — statues, dogs, elaborate costumes, fruit, glassware, and characters colliding in meticulously staged disorder. The image radiates a sense of exuberant excess, yet the apparent chaos is carefully composed. Joseph had an extraordinary gift for directing large ensembles, transforming crowded scenes into richly layered visual narratives.
He was widely admired for these ambitious compositions. His celebrated White Horse Whisky advertisement and the inventive Schweppes campaigns remain landmarks of imaginative, character-driven commercial photography. But it was his legendary Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet shoot that truly cemented his reputation for staging unforgettable scenes of theatrical abundance.
The spirit of that historic Stones banquet — its wit, decadence, and barely controlled anarchy — feels like a clear ancestor to this image. Smirnoff Office Party carries the same mischievous grandeur, as though Joseph took the DNA of the Beggars Banquet tableau and spun it into a new, surreal high-society fable.
Photographed in London in the 1970s, this print belongs to a special limited edition of three and is signed by Michael Joseph in gold pen along the lower margin. The colours remain rich and saturated, and the fine detail throughout the composition remains beautifully preserved — a testament to Joseph’s analogue craftsmanship and his remarkable ability to weave multiple stories into a single frame.
This is a rare collector’s piece from a photographer who understood that group photographs could become theatres of social satire — part celebration, part spectacle, part mischievous commentary on excess and human behaviour.
As with all pieces I offer, the work will be packaged with great care and devotion, ensuring it arrives safely while honouring both the history of the photograph and the artistry behind it.
#MichaelJoseph
#SmirnoffOfficeParty
#VintagePhotography
#1970sPhotography
#SignedPhotograph
#LimitedEditionPrint
#CTypePrint
#AnalogPhotography
#AdvertisingPhotography
#PhotographyCollectors
#BeggarsBanquet
#RollingStonesPhotography
#FineArtPhotography
#VintagePhotoArt
#CollectorPhotography
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.
“Smirnoff Office Party” — Michael Joseph
London, 1970s — Original C-type Print on glossy paper, signed in gold pen
Print size: 50 cm wide × 40 cm high
Edition: One of three in this size
A spectacularly theatrical tableau from photographer Michael Joseph, Smirnoff Office Party brings together everything that made him one of the most distinctive visual storytellers of his era: opulence, chaos, wit, and a masterful orchestration of complex group scenes.
Every inch of the frame brims with life — statues, dogs, elaborate costumes, fruit, glassware, and characters colliding in meticulously staged disorder. The image radiates a sense of exuberant excess, yet the apparent chaos is carefully composed. Joseph had an extraordinary gift for directing large ensembles, transforming crowded scenes into richly layered visual narratives.
He was widely admired for these ambitious compositions. His celebrated White Horse Whisky advertisement and the inventive Schweppes campaigns remain landmarks of imaginative, character-driven commercial photography. But it was his legendary Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet shoot that truly cemented his reputation for staging unforgettable scenes of theatrical abundance.
The spirit of that historic Stones banquet — its wit, decadence, and barely controlled anarchy — feels like a clear ancestor to this image. Smirnoff Office Party carries the same mischievous grandeur, as though Joseph took the DNA of the Beggars Banquet tableau and spun it into a new, surreal high-society fable.
Photographed in London in the 1970s, this print belongs to a special limited edition of three and is signed by Michael Joseph in gold pen along the lower margin. The colours remain rich and saturated, and the fine detail throughout the composition remains beautifully preserved — a testament to Joseph’s analogue craftsmanship and his remarkable ability to weave multiple stories into a single frame.
This is a rare collector’s piece from a photographer who understood that group photographs could become theatres of social satire — part celebration, part spectacle, part mischievous commentary on excess and human behaviour.
As with all pieces I offer, the work will be packaged with great care and devotion, ensuring it arrives safely while honouring both the history of the photograph and the artistry behind it.
#MichaelJoseph
#SmirnoffOfficeParty
#VintagePhotography
#1970sPhotography
#SignedPhotograph
#LimitedEditionPrint
#CTypePrint
#AnalogPhotography
#AdvertisingPhotography
#PhotographyCollectors
#BeggarsBanquet
#RollingStonesPhotography
#FineArtPhotography
#VintagePhotoArt
#CollectorPhotography
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
1971
Artist
Michael Joseph (1941-)
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Title of artwork
Smirnoff office party
Condition
Extremely fine
Technique
C-Print
Height
40 cm
Width
50 cm
Signature
Hand signed
Genre
Pop Culture
Sold by
