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Kundzicz, Walter (Champion Studios) & West, Hayden (Model/Subject) : Hayden West: "string Bikini" Color Photograph By Walter Kundzicz

Champion Studio, New York City, NY, 1965

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 1 pages. Rare Hayden West and Walter Kundzicz/Champion Studios collectible item. An original vintage color photographic print of Hayden West, one of the most good-looking male-nude models discovered by Walter Kundzicz, as photographed in 1965, in one of his most beautiful and iconic portraits. The print measures 3.5 X 5 inches and has white borders. It is encased in a protective plastic sheet. The photograph shows Hayden West posing in the beach, scantily and markedly clad in a white silk string brief (the same one that another model, Willie Koch, wore for his studio portrait). "Famous for quality color images of handsome, athletic men from the late 1950's and early 1960's, these photographs of scantily clad athletes (packed with amusing props, costumes, and bulging posing pouches) are notable not only for the commercial success they enjoyed during their heyday but also for their enduring creativity and imagination. Kundzicz and his work left an indelible imprint on male physique photography. Today, nearly half a century later, Kundzicz's work and his most popular models continue to have their ardent fans" (Reed Massengill). Hayden West is yet another specimen of the prototypical All-American male beauty that Kundzicz's impeccable eye discovered, photographed, and committed for posterity. While he (or she) may work in a genre that remains controversial (in puritanical America, not in Europe or Japan), every truly great photographer of the nude is The Eye incarnate: One for beauty and another for permanently capturing it on film. This is what many people really mean, even if it may sound dismissive, when they observe that the photographic nude is "50% casting". Together with such Champion stars as Jim Stryker and Tuck Powell, Hayden West anticipates by about two decades the model/stars of the reigning American photographer of the male nude, Bruce Weber. This is the genuine article, an absolute "must-have" collectible, not just memorabilia, item for Hayden West, Walter Kundzicz/Champion, and male erotic art photography collectors. This is an original vintage color photographic print, and it is very boldly and beautifully signed in black pen on verso by the photographer: "W. Kundzicz/Champion Test Print". It is also stamped in black on verso: "Hayden West". As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy of the print available online, is eminently suitable for framing, and despite its imperfection (slight crease on lower left-side corner) is still in fine condition overall: Clean, crisp, and bright. It is priced accordingly. Please note: There are Walter Kundzicz prints available online, but most of them are digital copies or have serious flaws and so have little or no collectible value. This print is a beauty, and as such, an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the iconic American male-nude models of the 20th century. A fine print. (SEE ALSO OTHER JIM STRYKER, TUCK POWELL, JOE DALLESANDRO, AND BRUCE OF LOS ANGELES TITLES IN OUR CATALOG).

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