Lisa Fonssagrives Book

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 day: 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.