The Cost of Living, Barbara Mullen, New York, Harper's Bazaar, March 1950. Platinum print, 30 x 24 inches. Printed c. 2007. Reinterpreted 1994. Print number 10 from an edition on 15. Signed and editioned, in pencil, on verso. Illustrated: Lillian Bassman , (New York: Bulfinch/Little, Brown and Company, 1997), pl. 35; Lillian Bassman: Women , (New York: Abrams, 2009), p. 32. [LBP.008.10].

NEW YORK, NY.- Edwynn Houk Gallery announces its exclusive representation of the Estate of Lillian Bassman and its first exhibition of the artist’s photographs. On view 12 May – 8 July, the show will feature more than 30 photographs tracing the legendary fashion photographer’s stylistic development from early vintage prints to her reinterpreted prints made in the 1990s.  

A seminal figure in the history of fashion photography, Lillian Bassman’s photographs appeared on the pages of Harper’s Bazaar from the 1940s through the 1960s. She trained and worked under famed art director Alexey Brodovitch, eventually becoming art director of Junior Bazaar in 1945, until the magazine’s closing in 1948. While working as art director, Bassman regularly hired photographers such as Richard Avedon, Arnold Newman, and Robert Frank. By 1946, Bassman began taking her own photographs and swiftly transitioned from art director to fashion photographer. Her first photograph was published in Bazaar in 1946 and her first editorial story in 1948.  

Known for blurred silhouettes, exaggerated gestures, and unusual compositions, Bassman's photographs illustrate the mystery and glamour of the modern woman. Transforming her images with bleaching and toning techniques in the darkroom, she introduced a new aesthetic and revolutionized fashion photography. 

In the early 1970s, disillusioned by the state of the commercial world of fashion photography, Bassman left the industry and destroyed most of her negatives and prints. Twenty years later, she discovered a box of negatives and began re-interpreting them. Using the darkroom, and later the computer, she would change the original framing, accentuate contrast and blurriness and retouch the background. These singular images led to a renewed interest in her work among editors, curators, and collectors. 

Born in 1917 in Brooklyn, Lillian Bassman worked as an artist's model, a textile designer, and a fashion illustrator before joining Harper's Bazaar in 1941. She lived and worked in New York until her death in 2012. Solo exhibitions of her photographs have been presented in London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Munich, New York, and Paris. In 1996, Bassman received the Agfa Life Time Achievement Award and the Art Directors Club Award. Her images have been reproduced in multiple monographs including Lillian Bassman: Lingerie (2012), Lillian Bassman:Women (2009), and Bassman and Himmel, which accompanied a major retrospective at Haus der Photographie Deichtorhallen Hamburg in 2009. Bassman’s photographs are held in major public and private collections worldwide.

Suzy Parker, c. 1950. 

Touch of Dew, Lisa Fonssagrives, New York, Harper's Bazaar, May 1961.

Margie Cato, (Test Shoot), New York, c. 1950.

Looking Backward - The Evenings Ahead, Betty Biehn, 1956.

In This Year of Lace, Dovima, Dress by Jane Derby, The Plaza Hotel, New York, Harper's Bazaar, October 1951.

Tra Moda e Arte: Teresa in a gown by Laura Biagiotti and shoes by Romeo Gigli, 1996.

"Night Bloom," Hat by Christian Lacroix Haute Couture, Olga Pantushenkova, Paris, The New York Times Magazine, 31 March 1996.

Southwest Passage - Sunset Pink: Model in pajamas by Kickernick, Harper's Bazaar, 1951.

Tunic Suit, Sunny Harnett, suit by Charles James, July 1955.

Silk Organdie, Embroidered and Printed, Barbara Mullen in a gown by Irene, New York, Harper's Bazaar, January 1956.

Kronung des Chic, Jada, dress by Thierry Mugler, 1998.

Night Bloom, Anneliese Seubert, ball gown by John Galliano for Haute Couture Givenchy, Paris, 1996.

Mary Jane Russell, New York, Harper's Bazaar, 1950.

"The V-Back Evenings", Dress by Trigere, Suzy Parker, New York, Harper's Bazaar, July 1955.

Margie Cato, Junior Bazaar, c. 1950.

Carmen, dress by Charles James, 1950's.

Toreador 1, Barbara Mullen, Harper's Bazaar, c. 1950.

Barbara Mullen, New York, c. 1958.

Barbara Mullen, aboard Le Bateau Mouche, Chanel Advertising Campaign, Paris, 1960.

Kronung des Chic, Jada, hat by Philip Treacy, German Vogue, 1998.

Anneliese Seubert, 1996.

More Fashion Mileage Per Dress, Barbara Vaughn, dress by Filcol, New York, February 1956.

Anne Saint-Marie, New York, 1958. 

The Art of Fashion, Neiman Marcus, 1996.

Golden Fox, Blue Fox, Marilyn Ambrose, Boa by Frederica, New York, Harper's Bazaar, November 1954. Gelatin silver print, 16 x 20 inches. Reinterpreted 1994. Print number 6 from an edition of 25. Signed and editioned, in pencil, on verso. Illustrated: Lillian Bassman , (New York: Bulfinch/Little, Brown and Company, 1997), pl. 46; Lillian Bassman: Women , (New York: Abrams, 2009), p. 66. [LBM.B1.046.1620.6].