Michael Joseph (1941-) - Pool ladies Close Up: Submerged
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Selected by Kai Brückner
Over 35 years' experience; former gallery owner and Museum Folkwang curator.
Estimate € 650 - € 800
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Description from the seller
Submerged – Pool Ladies, London, 1987
Photographer: Michael Joseph
Medium: C-type photographic print
Paper size: 40 × 30 cm
Orientation: Landscape
Original photograph: London, 1987
Dreamlike, mysterious and almost otherworldly, this striking image comes from Michael Joseph’s extraordinary Pool Ladies series, photographed in London in 1987.
Two women float with their eyes closed, their faces emerging serenely through the movement of the water. One appears upright, the other inverted, creating a wonderfully disorientating composition in which it becomes difficult to tell where reflection ends and reality begins.
The unusual blue tonality gives the photograph an almost cyanotype-like quality, while the C-type printing process retains the richness and subtle detail of the original image. Water becomes both subject and abstraction: ripples, reflections and bodies merge into an image that feels simultaneously photographic and painterly.
There is something beautifully peaceful about the women themselves. Amidst all the turbulence and texture of the water, their closed eyes give the photograph an extraordinary sense of stillness - as though they are momentarily inhabiting another world.
Part of Michael Joseph’s lesser-known archive beyond his famous commercial commissions, this image demonstrates his fascination with the human figure, unusual viewpoints and carefully constructed compositions.
Presented as a 40 × 30 cm C-type print, it is a bold contemporary presentation of an evocative image from Michael Joseph’s 1980s archive.
An unusual, hypnotic photograph - part portrait, part abstraction, and unmistakably Michael Joseph.
#MichaelJoseph #PoolLadies #BritishPhotography #VintagePhotography #FineArtPhotography #CollectiblePhotography #SignedPhotography #LondonPhotography #1980sPhotography #SwimmingPhotography #ArtPhotography #PhotographyCollector #PhotographicArt #ClaphamCommon #MichaelJosephArchive
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer, active from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s, and best known for his photographs for the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet gatefold.
My continuing mission is to share what we affectionately call “the other photographs”: the lesser-known treasures from his extraordinary archive — original darkroom prints, test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, his celebrated group compositions, and more intimate, personal images.
For this special Solo Seller Auction, I am particularly excited to include a selection from Michael’s 1964 Vietnam archive — photographs that have never previously been seen or offered for sale. These remarkable images reveal a very different side of his work, made when he was just 23 years old.
Alongside Michael’s authentic vintage darkroom prints, I am also presenting a new generation of works: striking prints on aluminium and my own handmade cyanotypes, created from his original negatives and transparencies in the Dordogne sunshine. Some are made on vintage photographic paper retrieved from Michael’s own working library, bringing the archive quite literally into a new generation.
Together, the collection brings photographic history and contemporary experimentation side by side — from unique vintage prints made by Michael himself to bold new interpretations of his remarkable archive.
I hope you enjoy discovering these photographs as much as I enjoy bringing them to light — sometimes preserved exactly as Michael made them, sometimes given an entirely new life.
All works are carefully protected and packed with the attention appropriate to collectible photographic artworks.
For US buyers: customs duties and applicable import charges are paid at source and included in the shipping cost. No additional charges should normally be payable on delivery, subject to any change in regulations.
Translated by Google TranslateSubmerged – Pool Ladies, London, 1987
Photographer: Michael Joseph
Medium: C-type photographic print
Paper size: 40 × 30 cm
Orientation: Landscape
Original photograph: London, 1987
Dreamlike, mysterious and almost otherworldly, this striking image comes from Michael Joseph’s extraordinary Pool Ladies series, photographed in London in 1987.
Two women float with their eyes closed, their faces emerging serenely through the movement of the water. One appears upright, the other inverted, creating a wonderfully disorientating composition in which it becomes difficult to tell where reflection ends and reality begins.
The unusual blue tonality gives the photograph an almost cyanotype-like quality, while the C-type printing process retains the richness and subtle detail of the original image. Water becomes both subject and abstraction: ripples, reflections and bodies merge into an image that feels simultaneously photographic and painterly.
There is something beautifully peaceful about the women themselves. Amidst all the turbulence and texture of the water, their closed eyes give the photograph an extraordinary sense of stillness - as though they are momentarily inhabiting another world.
Part of Michael Joseph’s lesser-known archive beyond his famous commercial commissions, this image demonstrates his fascination with the human figure, unusual viewpoints and carefully constructed compositions.
Presented as a 40 × 30 cm C-type print, it is a bold contemporary presentation of an evocative image from Michael Joseph’s 1980s archive.
An unusual, hypnotic photograph - part portrait, part abstraction, and unmistakably Michael Joseph.
#MichaelJoseph #PoolLadies #BritishPhotography #VintagePhotography #FineArtPhotography #CollectiblePhotography #SignedPhotography #LondonPhotography #1980sPhotography #SwimmingPhotography #ArtPhotography #PhotographyCollector #PhotographicArt #ClaphamCommon #MichaelJosephArchive
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer, active from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s, and best known for his photographs for the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet gatefold.
My continuing mission is to share what we affectionately call “the other photographs”: the lesser-known treasures from his extraordinary archive — original darkroom prints, test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, his celebrated group compositions, and more intimate, personal images.
For this special Solo Seller Auction, I am particularly excited to include a selection from Michael’s 1964 Vietnam archive — photographs that have never previously been seen or offered for sale. These remarkable images reveal a very different side of his work, made when he was just 23 years old.
Alongside Michael’s authentic vintage darkroom prints, I am also presenting a new generation of works: striking prints on aluminium and my own handmade cyanotypes, created from his original negatives and transparencies in the Dordogne sunshine. Some are made on vintage photographic paper retrieved from Michael’s own working library, bringing the archive quite literally into a new generation.
Together, the collection brings photographic history and contemporary experimentation side by side — from unique vintage prints made by Michael himself to bold new interpretations of his remarkable archive.
I hope you enjoy discovering these photographs as much as I enjoy bringing them to light — sometimes preserved exactly as Michael made them, sometimes given an entirely new life.
All works are carefully protected and packed with the attention appropriate to collectible photographic artworks.
For US buyers: customs duties and applicable import charges are paid at source and included in the shipping cost. No additional charges should normally be payable on delivery, subject to any change in regulations.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Date of print
2025
Artist
Michael Joseph (1941-)
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Title of artwork
Pool ladies Close Up: Submerged
Condition
Original State
Technique
C-Print
Height
40 cm
Edition
Taken during the US Playboy TV Interview
Width
30 cm
Signature
Hand signed
Genre
Nude
Sold by
