Buyer’s Guide: The Klemantaski Collection

Louis Klemantaski, whose motorsport photography work spans from 1930s through the 1970s, represents the pinnacle of the Jacques-Henri Lartigue aesthetic, a photographer who pioneered the art of capturing images of moving objects during the turn of the 20th century. The son of a Willys-Overland importer, Klemantaski spent his youth at the famous Brooklands racing circuit in Surrey, England, both racing on the circuit as well as taking photos of cars during races. In 1933, Klemantaski's pursuit of a professional racing career was cut short by a leg injury, and he subsequently took over as secretary of the Junior Racing Drivers Club, which is considered by many to be the first racing driver's school anywhere in the world. At the outbreak of World War II, his skilled photography was considered an invaluable asset to the Allied Forces, who utilized Klemantaski's talent for photographing objects moving at high speed to help researchers develop new weapons systems.

After the end of the war, now having honed his photography skills even further, Klemantaski found a renewed interest in motorsport, taking part in numerous road rallies throughout Europe, where he also rekindled his love of motorsport photography. Klemantaski attended every race he could get to, always finding ways to place himself, and in turn, the eye of the camera, as close to the action as possible in order to capture the sensations of motion.

The Klemantaski Collection is an archive of motorsport photographs spanning across Klemantaski's career during the golden age of motorsport, and includes images from other talented motorsport photographers from the era as well. Let's take a closer look at a few of the images from various eras of road racing in The Collection, all of which are available from the Winding Road Racing store:

Norman Wilson showing great intensity with his E.R.A. on the Mountain Circuit. Note the complete absence of any safety equipment.