Horst P. Horst was primarily a fashion advertising and portrait photographer, with a strong interest in still-life, interiors and landscape photography. His elegant, classically inspired, yet thoroughly modern style greatly influenced the genre of fashion photography.

Initially interested in architecture, Horst entered the Hamburg Kunstgewerbeschule to design furniture. In 1930, he moved to Paris where he worked under architect Le Corbusier. In Paris, Horst met Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, a photographer for French Vogue magazine, and began to experiment with photography. 

Horst ‘s first published photo was for French Vogue, appearing in the November, 1931 issue. The 1930s were an exciting time for Horst; his work was published and exhibited in both America and France. His circle of influential friends grew to include French aristocrats, artists such as Jean Cocteau, and fashion designer CoCo Chanel, all of whom he photographed. 

Horst received American citizenship in 1943, and changed his name to Horst P. Horst. He was drafted and served as a war photographer for the American army. Three years later he published "Patterns from Nature" a collection of plant and flower still lives. 

Throughout his life Horst travelled the world, moved in rarefied circles and photographed the beautiful, exotic, strange and effusively wealthy. His early career is marked by a controlled in-studio practice, his later career by in-situ photography and experiments with colour. He received an honorary Doctorate from the University of Bradford in 1989.