Lillian Bassman Explained

Lillian Bassman
Birth Date:15 June 1917
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Death Place:Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Occupation:fashion photographer, painter

Lillian Bassman (June 15, 1917 – February 13, 2012) was an American photographer and painter.

Early life and background

Her parents were Jewish intellectuals who emigrated to the United States from Ukraine (then in Russia) in 1905 and settled in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in Brooklyn and Greenwich Village, New York,[1] and studied at the Textile High School in Manhattan with future artist Alexey Brodovitch[2] and graduated in 1933.

Career

From the 1940s until the 1960s Bassman worked as a fashion photographer and art director for Junior Bazaar[3] [4] and Harper's Bazaar[5] where she promoted the careers of photographers such as Richard Avedon, Robert Frank, Louis Faurer and Arnold Newman. Under the guidance of the Russian emigrant, Alexey Brodovitch, she began to photograph her model subjects primarily in black and white. Her work was published for the most part in Harper's Bazaar from 1950 to 1965.

By the 1970s Bassman's interest in pure form in her fashion photography was out of vogue. She turned to her own photo projects and abandoned fashion photography. In doing so she tossed out 40 years of negatives and prints—her life's work. A forgotten bag filled with hundreds of images was discovered over 20 years later. Bassman's fashion photographic work began to be re-appreciated in the 1990s.[6] [7] She worked with digital technology and abstract color photography into her nineties to create a new series of work. She used Photoshop for her image manipulation.

The most notable qualities about her photographic work are the high contrasts between light and dark, the graininess of the finished photos, and the geometric placement and camera angles of the subjects. Bassman became one of the last great woman photographers in the world of fashion. A generation later, Bassman's pioneering photography and her mentor Alexey Brodovitch's bold cropping and layout innovations were a seminal influence on Sam Haskins and his black and white work of the sixties

Bassman was featured in the 2010 Swedish Halle of Femmes book, Hall of Femmes: Lillian Bassman,[8] [9] and even after her death her work has been exhibited internationally.

Bassman died on February 13, 2012, at age 94.[10]

Personal life

She first met her future husband, photographer Paul Himmel (born 1914), at Coney Island at age six. They met again at 13, and started living together when she was 15. They were married in 1935, and had two children.[1] Himmel died in 2009 after 73 years of marriage.[1]

Notable works

Exhibitions (selection)

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Horwell . Veronica . 16 February 2012 . Lillian Bassman obituary . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231010153457/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/feb/16/lillian-bassman . 10 October 2023 . 13 August 2013 . . en.
  2. News: Neigher . Julie . 7 February 2010 . Lillian Bassman, the return of an icon . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231001035357/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-feb-07-la-ig-bassman7-2010feb07-story.html . 1 October 2023 . 8 May 2010 . Los Angeles Times.
  3. Aletti . Vince . Vince Aletti . 2006 . Junior Bazaar . live . . 182 . 54–61 . 0003-6420 . 24473124 . limited . https://web.archive.org/web/20240530023551/https://issues.aperture.org/article/2006/1/1/junior-bazaar . 30 May 2024 . 29 May 2024.
  4. Web site: Panzer . Mary . Fall 2011 . This Is The Photo League . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240530025227/https://issues.aperture.org/article/2011/3/3/this-is-the-photo-league . 30 May 2024 . 29 May 2024 . . en-US . ...Lillian Bassman, at the time the art editor of Jr. Bazaar....
  5. Web site: Fairbanks . Daisy . 17 July 2009 . Inspiration - Lillian Bassman . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20150604081634/http://daisyfairbanks.typepad.com/daisy_fairbanks_vintage/2009/07/inspiration-lillian-bassman.html . 4 June 2015 . 8 May 2010 . Daisy Fairbanks Vintage .
  6. Weinberg. Lauren. 2010. Lillian Bassman. www.theglassmagazine.com. Glass Ventures Ltd. 1. 1. 64–69. 2041-6318.
  7. News: Aletti . Vince . Vince Aletti . 1 July 1997 . In her fashion . . 107 . 42 . 26 . 0042-6180 . .
  8. Book: Bouabana . Samira . Hall of Femmes: Lillian Bassman . Tillman Sperandio . Angela . Oyster Press . Translated by Elena Tillman Sperandio . 2010 . 9789197882712 . 939055063.
  9. Web site: 15 March 2023 . 8 October 2013 . 25-Plus Books on Women in Design . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231010184054/https://www.designersandbooks.com/blog/20-books-women-design . 10 October 2023 . 29 May 2024 . Designers & Books . en.
  10. News: Grimes . William . William Grimes (journalist) . 13 February 2012 . Lillian Bassman, Fashion and Fine-Art Photographer, Dies at 94 . registration . live . https://archive.today/20240530-002225/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/arts/design/lillian-bassman-fashion-and-fine-art-photographer-dies-at-94.html . 30 May 2024 . 29 May 2024 . The New York Times.
  11. Book: Friedewald, Boris . Women Photographers: From Julia Margaret Cameron to Cindy Sherman . . 2014 . 978-3-7913-4814-8 . Munich . 34–37 . en . 864503297 . Internet Archive.
  12. News: Hagen . Charles . 1 January 1993 . Art in Review . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150526081231/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/01/arts/art-in-review-554793.html . 26 May 2015 . 29 May 2024 . . C.24 . 0362-4331 . .
  13. Web site: 2 November 2009 . Peter Fetterman Gallery Presents 'Lillian Bassman: Women' . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120311025032/http://designtaxi.com/news.php?id=29333 . 11 March 2012 . 8 May 2010 . Design Taxi.
  14. Web site: Lillian Bassman Biography . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230529145921/http://www.f56.net/English/artists/lillian-bassman/biography/biography.html . 29 May 2023 . 29 May 2024 . Galerie f5,6.
  15. Web site: Lillian Bassman | Then and Now (2004) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231004185939/https://www.staleywise.com/exhibitions/lillian-bassman5 . 4 October 2023 . 8 May 2010 . Staley-Wise Gallery.
  16. Web site: 4 January 2010 . Lillian Bassman & Paul Himmel Retrospective at The Deichtorhallen Hamburg . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111001201306/http://www.artknowledgenews.com/2010-01-04-00-35-17-lillian-bassman-and-paul-himmel-retrospective-at-the-deichtorhallen-hamburg.html . 1 October 2011 . 8 May 2010 . Art Knowledge News.
  17. Web site: Current Exhibition - Lillian Bassman (A Retrospective) - January 14 – May 13, 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060203162754/http://www.peterfetterman.com/New/artists.php?page=nowShows.html . 3 February 2006 . Peter Fetterman Gallery.
  18. Web site: Field . Andy . 10 December 2023 . 'Photography 1948-2010: Women' at the Wapping Project Bankside . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150906151703/https://run-riot.com/art/photography-1948-2010-women-wapping-project-bankside . 6 September 2015 . 29 May 2024 . Run Riot . en.
  19. News: Bellafante . Ginia . Ginia Bellafante . 16 June 2009 . Femininity, Salvaged . registration . live . https://archive.today/20240530-011127/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/arts/design/17bassman.html . 30 May 2024 . 29 May 2024 . The New York Times.
  20. Web site: Kumagai . Nao . 20 March 2014 . シャネル、リリアン・バスマン写真展を銀座＆京都で開催 . Chanel to hold Lillian Bassman photo exhibition in Ginza and Kyoto . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200807025857/https://www.fashion-headline.com/article/4588 . 7 August 2020 . 29 May 2024 . Fashion Headline . ja . Japan.
  21. Web site: 2014–2015 . Lillian Bassman & Paul Himmel. Two Lives for Photography . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211020092850/https://www.kunsthauswien.com/en/exhibitions/lillian-bassman-paul-himmel-two-lives-photography/ . 20 October 2021 . 29 May 2024 . KunstHausWien.
  22. Web site: 16 October 2014 . Ausstellungstipp Wien: Zwei Leben für die Mode . Exhibition Tip Vienna: Two Lives for Fashion . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230926232801/https://www.harpersbazaar.de/zeitgeist/ausstellungstipp-wien-zwei-leben-fuer-die-mode . 26 September 2023 . 29 May 2024 . . de.
  23. Web site: Eckardt . Steph . 31 May 2016 . Revisit a Lifetime of Fashion Photography with Lillian Bassman . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231002074319/https://www.wmagazine.com/gallery/lillian-bassman-photography-edwynn-houk . 2 October 2023 . 29 May 2024 . . en.
  24. Web site: Feitelberg . Rosemary . 6 May 2016 . Lillian Bassman’s Photography to Be Showcased at Edwynn Houk Gallery . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211027021402/https://wwd.com/business-news/media/lillian-bassman-photography-edwynn-houk-gallery-10425728/ . 27 October 2021 . 29 May 2024 . . en-US.
  25. Web site: Crager . Jack . 11 May 2016 . Lillian Bassman's Abstract, Re-Imagined Fashion Photography . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230926085721/https://www.popphoto.com/american-photo/new-exhibit-classic-lillian-bassman/ . 26 September 2023 . 29 May 2024 . . en-US.
  26. Web site: 1 June 2016 . Lillian Bassman (Edwynn Houk Gallery) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231206220417/https://monovisions.com/lillian-bassman-edwynn-houk-gallery/ . 6 December 2023 . 29 May 2024 . Monovisions . en-GB.
  27. Web site: 2016 . Lillian Bassman: A Visionary in the World of Fashion . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240530010141/https://abcnews.go.com/Photos/photos/lillian-bassman-visionary-world-fashion-39200938 . 30 May 2024 . 29 May 2024 . . en . Slide show.
  28. Web site: Lillian Bassman 12 May - 15 July 2016 . live . https://archive.today/20240530-010755/https://www.houkgallery.com/exhibitions/27-lillian-bassman-new-york/press_release_text/ . 30 May 2024 . 29 May 2024 . Edwynn Houk Gallery . en.
  29. Web site: McKeon . Lucy . 14 September 2021 . The Women Who Reshaped Modern Photography . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206183708/https://aperture.org/editorial/the-women-who-reshaped-modern-photography/ . 6 December 2022 . 29 May 2024 . . en-US.

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