Lisa Fonssagrives: Three Decades of Classic Fashion Photography

by Martin Harrison, David Seidner (Editor)

Swedish by birth, Parisian by inclination, and American following her marriage to Irving Penn in 1950. Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn (1911-1992) was the most sought-after model in the history of international fashion photography for three decades and the most famous face in such magazines as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
During her long career, she posed for all the prominent photographers of her George Hoyningen-Huene, Man Ray, Horst, Erwin Blumenfeld, George Platt Lynes, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Norman Parkinson and Richard Avedon, among others. Of special importance was her work with Fernand Fonssagrives, her first husband; with Horst, with whom she shared a common fate as a European immigrant; and of course with Irving Penn, her second husband.
Lisa Fonssagrives was obviously more than just a model for photographers - she was both their muse and inspiration. Many of them made their most beautiful and noteworthy fashion photographs in cooperation with her. Among these is a surprisingly large number which rank among the absolute classics in the history of fashion photography of our century.
This volume was compiled and arranged by David Seidner, a talented fashion photographer of the new generation who unearthed an undiscovered collection of photographs which once belonged to Lisa Fonssagrives. The British photo historian Martin Harrison wrote the accompanying biographical essay.

Genres: Photography

149 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1996

About the author

Martin Harrison is a British art historian, curator, and author, internationally recognized for his expertise in photography, stained glass, and the work of painter Francis Bacon. Beginning his career in the 1960s as a photographer’s assistant at Vogue, Harrison later emerged as a leading authority on British photojournalism with his influential book Young Meteors: British Photojournalism, 1957–1965. He played a key role in reviving interest in forgotten photographers, including Lillian Bassman and Saul Leiter.
Harrison’s curatorial work spans major institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, with exhibitions held across Europe, the United States, and Mexico. A founding trustee of the English Stained Glass Museum at Ely Cathedral, he also contributed significantly to the study of Victorian stained glass and Pre-Raphaelite art.
His most celebrated contribution lies in his extensive scholarship on Francis Bacon. Since 1999, Harrison has authored several critical texts on the artist’s work and its sources, culminating in the five-volume Francis Bacon: Catalogue Raisonné (2016), a landmark in Bacon studies. He continues to lead academic discourse as editor of the Francis Bacon Studies series, focusing on the artist’s intellectual and visual influences, particularly cinema and photography.
Across a multifaceted career, Harrison has combined visual analysis with rigorous scholarship, leaving a lasting impact on the study of modern art and visual culture.

Reviews

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Reader, the joy of finally having this book in my hands cannot be overstated.

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