The story behind Philippe Halman's iconic photographs of 16 year old Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor's iconic Philippe 

Halsman portrait taken in 1948.

In 1948, Philippe Halsman, the prolific 20th-century portrait photographer, was assigned by LIFE Magazine to photograph Elizabeth Taylor for a profile story. Halsman was no stranger to LIFE: he had been a regular contributor since 1941 who captured the world’s leading figures, from Marilyn Monroe to Alfred Hitchcock to Winston Churchill.

In October that year, Elizabeth  arrived at Halsman’s New York City portrait studio, which still exists today and is now home to the Halsman Archive. “In my studio Elizabeth was quiet and shy. She struck me as an average teenager, except that she was incredibly beautiful,” Halsman reflected in his book 'Halsman: Sight and Insight.'

“On a purely technical level, he pointed out that two sides of my face photographed differently," Taylor would later recall. "One side looked younger; the other more mature. In posing for Halsman, I became instantly aware of my body.” She also recalled him shouting one particularly memorable instruction for her: “You have bosoms, so stick them out!”

Taylor had worn her own earrings to the shoot, but she didn’t wear a necklace. During the sitting, Halsman borrowed his wife Yvonne's blue triangle pendant necklace and placed it around Elizabeth’s neck. This subtle decision added a new level of impact to the portrait. The necklace was later passed down to Halsman’s daughter Irene, who still cherishes the keepsake today.

1948.

“[Halsman] was the first person to make me look at myself as a woman... After my session with Halsman, I was much more determined to control my screen image. I wanted to look older so I insisted on cutting my hair. In 1949 I went from portraying Amy in Little Women, another child-woman to playing a full-fledged romantic lead in The Conspirator. At barely seventeen, I grew up for all America to see.” - Elizabeth Taylor.

Halsman ran into Taylor a few weeks later in Hollywood and when approached by him, she couldn't remember where they had met. “She could have not hurt me more," he would later reflect. "Her words showed again how important a photograph can be and how unimportant the photographer who made it.”