Claxton, Steve McQueen
Live fast, die young
“One time when I was with him, he drove a brand new Ford convertible, with only thirty miles on the speedometer, at top speed for such a long stretch of the Texas highway that the engine began to smoke and eventually caught on fire. He slowed down and shouted to me, “Clax, when I tell you to jump, jump!” We did jump out of the car just as it burst into flames. Steve sat on the side of the country road at a safe distance from the burning vehicle and laughed his head off.” —William Claxton
Sharing a passion for fast cars, Steve McQueen (1930-1980) and William Claxton became friends early in McQueen’s career and remained close until his premature death. Claxton frequented McQueen throughout his many incarnations (daredevil, dirt biker, movie star, sports car driver, ladies man, family man, etc.), capturing at every turn another side of McQueen’s enigmatic tough-guy/nice-guy personality. As this photo album demonstrates, Claxton’s photographic talent and sensibilities were perfectly attuned to the actor’s multifaceted character. This is the real Steve McQueen, immortalized by Claxton’s empathetic lens.
About the editor:
California-native Steve Crist's TASCHEN titles include André de Dienes's Marilyn, William Claxton's Steve McQueen, and The Polaroid Book.
About the photographer:
William Claxton (1927-2008) began his career shooting jazz record cover art. His iconic images of Chet Baker, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday and many others reflect his preeminence among photographers of jazz music. Claxton worked for many of the biggest publishers including Life, Paris Match, and Vogue magazines. His work has been shown in galleries around the world, and his photographic prints are now sought after by collectors of fine art photography. He passed away on October 11, 2008 in his hometown Los Angeles.
 |
Claxton, Steve McQueen
Crist, Steve (Editor)
Claxton, William Flexicover, 19.6 x 24.5 cm (7.7 x 9.6 in.), 192 pages $ 19.99 |
- Reviews (75 items)
"McQueen, mythique. Son nom donne des frissons. A sa vue, les femmes s'extasient, les hommes le jalousent. Celui qui jouait dans Au nom de la loi, qui adorait autant les sports mécaniques que les drogues douces (ou pas), Steve McQueen vient d'être l'objet d'un livre inoubliable. William Claxton, photographe, le rencontre sur le tournage d'Une certaine rencontre avec la belle Nathalie Wood. Impressionné par l'acteur, il le décrit comme un "homme de la rue, un animal séduisant et branché". Et décide de lui consacrer un ouvrage rempli de photos aussi tragiques que magiques. Même nu, avec seulement un caleçon et de miteuses chaussettes, il demeure insondable. Là, le visage plein de cambouis, il s'essuie et vous fixe: impossible de décrocher le regard. Il est à croquer. A l'image de ce livre."
Oui Magazine, Paris, France
Oui Magazine, Paris, France
- Clippings (32 items)
Im Bett mit Steve McQueen
Sonntagszeitung, Switzerland, July 18, 2004
Sonntagszeitung, Switzerland, July 18, 2004
- See also (12 items)
 |
William Claxton. Jazzlife. The Collector's Edition Limited to 1,000 individually signed and numbered copies. Every copy comes with four signed and numbered ultrachrome prints |
 |
New! A limited edition of 1,500 numbered copies, signed by Dennis Hopper During the 1960s, Dennis Hopper carried a camera everywhere—on film sets and locations, at parties, diners, bars and galleries, on freeways and political marches. Along the way he captured some of the most fascinating moments of his generation with a keen and intuitive eye. |
 |
LaChapelle, Heaven to Hell “The only link between Andy Warhol and J-Lo.” —GQ, London, on David LaChapelle |