About
George Holz was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (aka “the Secret City”), graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and assisted for Helmut Newton, whom he credits with guiding his career. As a fledgling photographer, he lived in Milan and Paris, where he shot beauty and fashion for major European magazines such as Italian Vogue and French Elle. Afterward, he moved to New York City, where he set up his famous studio on Lafayette Street, traveling frequently to Los Angeles and Europe to shoot fashion, advertising, and portraiture for major publications such as Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar. His fine-art nudes have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. His shows have included “Original Sin” and “Three Boys from Pasadena – A Tribute to Helmut Newton” with fellow Art Center alumni Just Loomis and Mark Arbeit. Holz has collected a variety of prestigious industry awards over the years including a Grammy and a Clio.
Holz works as an adjunct professor and lectures internationally at museums and universities, mentoring young photographers and passing on his photographic aspirations to “always begin and end with light, ” to “do it all in-camera,” and to “bring modern photography back to the level of the artful burn and dodge of the past.”
Holz continues to travel extensively for his commercial work, fine-art shows, and lectures, and is currently working on several projects, including his upcoming book of nudes. When not exploring remote locations and photographing his muses, George’s favorite pastimes include traveling the American backroads in his '58 Airstream and conversing with his chocolate lab, Ruby.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
- The Art of Persuasion: A History of Advertising Photography, International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House, Rochester NY, 1988 (permanent collection)
- George Holz: Photographs The Center for Photography at Woodstock, 1989
- Photographs by George Holz: Hohschule fur Angewandte Hunst, Vienna, 1990
- George Holz: G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Los Angeles, 1991
- Nude in Photography: La Foret Museum, Tokyo, 1993
- George Holz Platinum Nudes: The Platinum Gallery Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1996
- Original Sin: Staley Wise Gallery, New York, Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco, Fahey Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, John Cleary Gallery, Houston, 1997-1998
- Centro Cultural /Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City 1999 (permanent collection)
- The Portrait/The Nude III: Fahey Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, 2001
- Three Boys from Pasadena: George Holz, Mark Arbeit, and Just Loomis: A Tribute to Helmut Newton Curated by June Newton: Helmut Newton
- Foundation, Berlin 2009, Acte 2 Galerie, Paris 2010, and Clic Gallery, New York 2010, Art Cologne 2012, Williamson Gallery, Art Center College of Design, 2012 Pasadena, Eyeloco Gallery, Antwerp 2012
- George Holz: HOLZ HOLLYWOOD: 30 YEARS OF PORTRAITS - Private Show, Kaune, Posnik, Spohr Gallery, Cologne, Germany 2015
- FAME: Galleri Fine Art/Qvale Galleri, Oslo Norway May, 2019
- George Holz; Three Boys from Pasadena, Helmut Newton Foundation: Berlin Germany, June 2019
SELECTED CLIENTS
Arena Magazine, Avon, Axe, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Capitol Records, Caress, CBS, Chloe, Clairol, Cover Girl, Disney, Dove Chocolate, Drambuie, E!, Entertainment Weekly, Essence Magazine, Flaunt Magazine, Fox Broadcasting Company, General Mills, Glamour Magazine, GQ, Hanes, Hershey’s, In Style, Italian Vogue, Kohler, L’eggs, L’Oreal, Lucky Magazine, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Mercury Records, Natori, New York Magazine, Nike, Oprah, Paramount Pictures, People, Pepsi, Reebok, Rolling Stone, Saks Fifth Ave, Self Magazine, Seventeen Magazine, Sony Records, Spin Magazine, Tequila Sauza, Turner Broadcasting, Vanity Fair, Virgin Records, Warner Bros Records, WB Network, Wrigleys, YMI