The Art of Playboy.

First edition of this curated collection of art commissioned by Playboy magazine, showcasing the magazine's effort to blend "high" and "low" art and highlighting visual legacies from artists like Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol. Quarto, original publisher's cloth, profusely illustrated with over 170 pieces of art. Association copy, inscribed by Ray Bradbury on the front free endpaper to celebrated portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh and his wife Estrellita, "To Estrellita & Yousuf Karsh: With thanks for a grand experience, and with the hope that we will meet again! Fond Wishes! Ray Bradbury Oct. 31, 1990." Likely received by Karsh after a sitting with Bradbury and fellow writer Kurt Vonnegut on October 30, 1990. Yousuf Karsh is recognized as one of the leading photographers of the twentieth century. Arriving in Canada in 1924 as an Armenian refugee, Karsh eventually settled in Ottawa. Over six decades, he mastered the art of portraiture and created a unique chronicle of his time through images of celebrated legends. Some of his most notable subjects include Winston Churchill, Audrey Hepburn, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Ernest Hemingway, among others. A celebrity in his own right, he was an elegant and charming public figure, captivating audiences with compelling stories told in images and words. Karsh sought to capture, as he put it, the “elusive moment of truth,” revealing the essential nature of his subjects as reflected in their eyes, hands, and attitudes. From the collection of Yousuf Karsh with his estate label to the front pastedown. Held by the Estate of Yousuf & Estrellita Karsh; after Yousuf’s death in 2002 passing to Estrellita Karsh; after Estrellita’s death in March 2025 passing to Katherine Getchell. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Cover painting by Pater Sato.