David Hiscock - Male nude photographic composition
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Selected by Kai Brückner
Over 35 years' experience; former gallery owner and Museum Folkwang curator.
Estimate € 1,000 - € 1,200
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Description from the seller
David Hiscock (1944–2012)
Untitled Nude Study, 1988
From the Private Archive of Michael Joseph
Not accompanied by a certificate of authenticity
Print size: 50.7 cm high × 40.5 cm wide
Medium: Gloss photographic print
Signed in the image: "David Hiscock '88"
Occasionally, works emerge from the Michael Joseph archive that clearly belong to a different artistic sensibility and visual tradition.
This striking nude study by David Hiscock is one such example.
Unlike Michael Joseph's celebrated photographs of bustling banquets, exuberant gatherings and carefully choreographed crowds, Hiscock's composition is inward-looking and intensely contemplative. The solitary figure folds into itself in a pose that feels at once vulnerable and monumental, while a classical sculpted head sits nearby like a silent sentinel. The result is a work rich in symbolism, stillness and suggestion.
The image possesses a distinctly painterly presence. Broad passages of darkness, gestural marks and velvety tonal transitions blur the boundaries between photography, drawing and printmaking. The figure seems to emerge from the surrounding shadows like an apparition, creating an atmosphere that is brooding, meditative and quietly mysterious.
David Hiscock was respected both as a photographer and educator, producing work that frequently explored the relationship between the human form, memory and visual metaphor. Here, the body becomes less a portrait than a sculptural presence, balanced delicately between light and darkness, substance and shadow.
Although its precise provenance within the archive is undocumented, the print remained preserved amongst the Joseph family holdings for many years and forms part of a wider collection of photographs, artworks and reference material accumulated over several decades.
The glossy surface enhances the rich blacks, subtle highlights and painterly textures of the composition. Some superficial condition issues are present, including an area on the reverse that appears consistent with historic mould or fungal spotting. These marks are cosmetic rather than structural, and have been clearly illustrated in the accompanying photographs. No attempt has been made to remove them for fear of damaging the surface. As is often the case with archival material of this age, such signs of passage contribute to the object's history and authenticity.
This is not a modern reproduction but a period photographic print dating from 1988 and bearing the artist's signature within the image.
A thoughtful and atmospheric work that bridges photography, fine art and figurative study, offering collectors an opportunity to acquire a rarely encountered print by David Hiscock from the private archive of Michael Joseph.
The piece will be packed with great care and dispatched securely to ensure safe arrival.
#DavidHiscock #VintagePhotography #FigurativeArt #MaleNudeStudy
#BritishPhotography #PhotographyCollector #FineArtPrint
#PhotographicHistory #SignedPrint #1980sPhotography
#CollectorsItem #AtmosphericArt #GlossPhotographicPrint
#ArchiveDiscovery #Barebumexposed #RareHiscockPrint
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.
David Hiscock (1944–2012)
Untitled Nude Study, 1988
From the Private Archive of Michael Joseph
Not accompanied by a certificate of authenticity
Print size: 50.7 cm high × 40.5 cm wide
Medium: Gloss photographic print
Signed in the image: "David Hiscock '88"
Occasionally, works emerge from the Michael Joseph archive that clearly belong to a different artistic sensibility and visual tradition.
This striking nude study by David Hiscock is one such example.
Unlike Michael Joseph's celebrated photographs of bustling banquets, exuberant gatherings and carefully choreographed crowds, Hiscock's composition is inward-looking and intensely contemplative. The solitary figure folds into itself in a pose that feels at once vulnerable and monumental, while a classical sculpted head sits nearby like a silent sentinel. The result is a work rich in symbolism, stillness and suggestion.
The image possesses a distinctly painterly presence. Broad passages of darkness, gestural marks and velvety tonal transitions blur the boundaries between photography, drawing and printmaking. The figure seems to emerge from the surrounding shadows like an apparition, creating an atmosphere that is brooding, meditative and quietly mysterious.
David Hiscock was respected both as a photographer and educator, producing work that frequently explored the relationship between the human form, memory and visual metaphor. Here, the body becomes less a portrait than a sculptural presence, balanced delicately between light and darkness, substance and shadow.
Although its precise provenance within the archive is undocumented, the print remained preserved amongst the Joseph family holdings for many years and forms part of a wider collection of photographs, artworks and reference material accumulated over several decades.
The glossy surface enhances the rich blacks, subtle highlights and painterly textures of the composition. Some superficial condition issues are present, including an area on the reverse that appears consistent with historic mould or fungal spotting. These marks are cosmetic rather than structural, and have been clearly illustrated in the accompanying photographs. No attempt has been made to remove them for fear of damaging the surface. As is often the case with archival material of this age, such signs of passage contribute to the object's history and authenticity.
This is not a modern reproduction but a period photographic print dating from 1988 and bearing the artist's signature within the image.
A thoughtful and atmospheric work that bridges photography, fine art and figurative study, offering collectors an opportunity to acquire a rarely encountered print by David Hiscock from the private archive of Michael Joseph.
The piece will be packed with great care and dispatched securely to ensure safe arrival.
#DavidHiscock #VintagePhotography #FigurativeArt #MaleNudeStudy
#BritishPhotography #PhotographyCollector #FineArtPrint
#PhotographicHistory #SignedPrint #1980sPhotography
#CollectorsItem #AtmosphericArt #GlossPhotographicPrint
#ArchiveDiscovery #Barebumexposed #RareHiscockPrint
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
1988
Artist
David Hiscock
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Title of artwork
Male nude photographic composition
Condition
Original State
Technique
C-Print
Height
50.7 cm
Edition
Glossy finish
Width
40.5 cm
Signature
Signed
Genre
Nude
Sold by
