The personal collection of Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn (1911-1992), who was the greatest model of her time: 150 prints taken from the years 1935 to 1955 by masters of photography such as Horst P. Horst, Irving Penn, Louise Dahl- Wolfe or Erwin Blumenfeld.
The tour offers a glimpse into the golden age of fashion photography. More than a model, Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn fully participated in the development of the photographs for which she posed. Most were taken in the studio, which required hours of preparation and a real bond between the photographer and his model.
Dancer, model, photographer, stylist and sculptor, she is considered the first “top model” in history. For 20 years, she was frequently published in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. She did around 200 covers for the biggest period fashion magazines. At the height of her career in 1949, she appeared on the cover of Time magazine at the age of 38.
She collaborated with the greatest fashion photographers: Fernand Fonssagrives, her first husband, Horst P. Horst, whose favorite model she was, George Hoyningen-Huene, George Platt Lynes, Erwin Blumenfeld, who immortalized her hanging from the tower Eiffel, dressed in a dress by Lucien Lelong, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, whose resolutely modern style suited Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn perfectly, Irving Penn, whom she married in 1950, and who made her her partner for her greatest photographs , Richard Avedon, his friend Frances McLaughlin-Gill, the first female photographer under contract with Vogue, and many others: Kathryn Abbe, James Abbe Jr., Gene Fenn, Otto Fenn, Toni Frissell, Harold Halma, Genevieve Naylor, John Rawlings and Lillian Bassman.
Useful information :
• ZLisa Fonssagrives-Penn exhibition catalog – Fashion icon, ed. Skira / MEP
• European House of Photography: 5/7 rue de Fourcy – 75004 Paris
• Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Weekends 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
• Price: Full price: €13, Reduced price: €10 / €8
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