Lillian Bassman
Overview
Lillian Bassman (1917-2012) born in Brooklyn, NY was a famed fashion photographer renowned for her work atHarper’s Bazaar magazine. Bassman’s hallmark images are high-contrast black-and-white images of society women, actresses, and models from the 1950s and 1960s—especially of contemporary top model Barbara Mullen, who was her muse. Bassman went on to study at the Textiles High School in Manhattan where she met the photographer Alexey Brodovitch. She began to work for Harper’s Bazaar under Brodovitch in the 1940s, where she promoted the careers of Richard Avedon, Robert Frank, and her husband Paul Himmel as the photo editor of the magazine. By the 1970s, Bassman abandoned commercial work but continued to practice photography for the remainder of her life.
Featured Exhibitions
Jean Shrimpton, 1960
Gelatin silver print
It’s a Cinch, Carmen,1951
Gelatin silver print
Margie Cato, c. 1950
Gelatin silver print
The V-Back Evenings [variant] Suzy Parker in a dress by Trigere, New York, Harper’s Bazaar, 1955
Gelatin silver print
The Well Dressed Leg, Dorian Leigh, New York, Harper’s Bazaar, April 1948
Gelatin silver print
“Golden Fox, Blue Fox”, Marilyn Ambrose, Harper’s Bazaar, New York [Boa by Frederica], November 1954
Gelatin silver print
“Touch of Dew,” Lisa Fonssagrives, Harper’s Bazaar, New York, May 1961
Gelatin silver print