Phil Stern is an award-winning American photographer noted for his iconic portraits of Hollywood stars, as well as his war photography while serving with the "Darby's Rangers" in the North African and Italian campaigns during World War II.

Limited Edtion Portfolio Box Set

This portfolio contains 11″ x14″ state of the art ink jet prints, each on the improved print materials tested for archival stability. The makers claim a minimum of 180 years of durability. The photographer intends to be around in 2185 to check on that extravagant claim. This edition is limited to 65 portfolios, each cased in a custom hard case box. Both the box and each print are signed by Phil Stern.

Please contact one of Phil’s galleries for purchasing.

Coming Soon: Hollywood Big Shot

Phil Stern: A Life’s Work

Drawn to the iconic figures and emblematic events of our age, celebrated photographer Phil Stern has documented World War II soldiers in combat in North Africa and Sicily, the luminous jazz legends of Verve Records, and Hollywood stars living the high life. Collected for the first time in this amazing tribute to Stern’s long-standing legacy, Phil Stern: A Life’s Work features never-before-seen photographs of the greatest figures and times of the American twentieth century.

Stern, who enlisted in the Army of Dec. 7, 1941, joined the ranks of “Darby’s Rangers,” a much-heralded fighting unit, as combat photographer. In North Africa documenting the harsh and brutal battles against General Rommel’s forces, Stern was wounded. Awarded a Purple Heart for bravery, Stern was then reassigned to cover the invasion of Sicily for Stars and Stripes. Covering the homecoming of Darby’s Rangers for Life, the assignments Stern shot for the magazine brought him into another intrinsically American experience: Hollywood. At the same time, Stern worked intermittently for jazz label legend Norman Granz, photographing album covers for the Verve, Pablo, and Reprise record labels. A golden-era industry insider par excellence, Stern was tapped by Frank Sinatra to be the official photographer for the JFK Inaugural Gala. His friendships with and access to the greatest legends of the time allowed him to create indelible portraits – most seen here for the first time – Of James Dean, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Bette David, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Count Basis, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Lester Young, among many others. Stern’s oeuvre is studded with classic figures of entertainment at its best; and in Phil Stern: A Life’s Work they come together to form a brilliant constellation around this truly star photographer.

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: powerHouse Books (October 1, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1576871886
  • ISBN-13: 978-1576871881
  • Product Dimensions: 14.7 x 12.4 x 1.7 inches

Buy the book online here.



Phil Stern’s Hollywood: Photographs, 1940-1979

Ninety black-and-white photographs showcase the work of the photographer who shot the Hollywood community for Life from the 1940s through the 1970s and include candid photographs of Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas, Groucho Marx, and others.

  • Hardcover: 115 pages
  • Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (November 2, 1993)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0394581105
  • ISBN-13: 978-0394581101
  • Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 10.1 x 0.7 inches

Buy the book online here.

JFK Inaugural Gala Commemorative Book

“I was never part of his inner circle,” Phil says about Frank Sinatra, “but for some reason he trusted me.” When Kennedy won the presidency, Sinatra was thrilled. After all, Sinatra had supported Kennedy for years, and credits himself with Kennedy’s election victory in Hawaii (where Sinatra had been stumping while shooting The Devil at 4 O’Clock). To show his appreciation for Sinatra’s support, Kennedy asked him to stage the Inaugural Gala. Phil says “I knew it would be an historic occasion, and I wanted to be in on it. So I wrote a note to Frank on a file card and left it in his dressing room. It read something like: I’d like to photograph the inauguration. Check one of three boxes – fuck off, I’ll think about it, or yes.” The answer was yes. After the gala, Sinatra and Phil made a limited amount of these books to be given to the performers.

See it online here.

Not currently available for public sale.