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)
Centro Cultural /Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City 1999 (permanent collection)
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
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
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