Stephan Glass, more commonly known as Stephen Glass, was a Hungarian-British photographer best known for his nude studies.

Early career

He was born in Hungary to Jewish parents. After three years of intensive study in commercial art schools in Budapest, he earned his living as a designer, cartoonist, and painter. At the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he left Hungary for Germany, where he worked as art editor for the leading evening newspaper in Berlin His younger brother

Zoltán Zoltán () is a Hungarian masculine given name. The name days for this name are 8 March and 23 June in Hungary, and 7 April in Slovakia. "Zoli" is the short version of Zoltán. "Zoli" is commonly used. Zoltána is the feminine version. The name i ...

, who moved to Berlin in 1925, founded the advertising photography agency, Reclaphot, and the Autophot agency, which specialised in automotive photography. Together with Peter Petersen, they took photographs for such firms as Daimler-Benz, Fiat and Auto Union. As Hungarian Jews, however, Stephen and Zoltán found working in Germany increasingly problematic and they eventually emigrated to England, where they shared a photography studio, in London.

Life in London

In the 1940s and 1950s, Stephen specialised in photographing nudes for such magazines as ''

Health and Efficiency ''H&E naturist'' (originally ''Health and Efficiency'') is a 92-page monthly commercial magazine focusing on the naturist lifestyle, through articles on travel, health and culture, as well as various features on arts and books with a naked them ...

'' and ''The Naturist''. In addition, his work regularly featured in continental magazines such as ''Paris Hollywood'', ''Femina'' and ''Modelstudier'' making him one of the most prominent photographers of the nude at the time. The models, June Palmer and

Pamela Green Phyllis Pamela Green (28 March 1929 – 7 May 2010) was an English glamour model and actress, best known at the end of the 1950s and early 1960s. She modeled for Zoltán Glass and his brother Stephen, Bill Brandt, Joan Craven, Bertram Park, ...

both posed for him, and he frequently used

Spielplatz Spielplatz (German for playground) is the longest-operating naturist resort in United Kingdom, and consists of located in the village of Bricket Wood, in the English county of Hertfordshire. As of 2021, the resort consists of 65 houses. Histor ...

nudist camp in

Bricket Wood Bricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, south of St Albans city centre (though in said city's contiguous built-up area) and north-northeast of Watford. History The area of Bricket Wood was mostly occupied by farme ...

as a location. In 1950 he photographed the first Miss Venus contest at Spielplatz. It was the year Pamela Green won. Glass would often use his flat as a studio. It was on Old Church Street, less than a ten-minute walk from his brother's studio on the

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

, London. In addition to magazines, his work appeared in a series of books published by ''The Naturist'', such as ''Pool of Enchantment'' (1950), ''Beauty and Naturism'', and ''Sussex Maidens'' (1949). Stephen Glass died 23 April 1990. The

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

holds one of his works, a 1930s photo of "Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Bt".

Books published by The Naturist

Books published by The Naturist for which Stephen Glass provided the photography. * Rosemary Andre, ''My Life Story'', The Naturist Ltd, 1945 * Michael Rutherford, ''British Naturism'', The Naturist Ltd, 1946 * Roy Wyatt, ''Sussex Maidens'', The Naturist Ltd, 1949 * Anne Seton, ''Pool of Enchantment'', The Naturist Ltd, 1950 * Charles Sennet, ''Nudist Life in Spielplatz'', The Naturist Ltd, 1956 * Melvyn Oakdale, ''The Mystery of Naturism'', The Naturist Ltd, 1956 * Stewart Douglas, ''Beauty and Naturism'', The Naturist Ltd, * Ronald Mason, ''Eve in the Sun'', The Naturist Ltd, * Douglas Stewart, ''Ideal Manhood'', The Naturist Ltd

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glass, Stephen Year of birth missing 1990 deaths Photographers from Budapest Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Nude photographers 20th-century British photographers British erotic photographers