Lillian Bassman, "Barbara Mullen: Blowing Kiss," c. 1950s, photograph.
Lillian Bassman is beyond the shadow of doubt, one of the greatest female fashion photographers of all time. Her work has the power to take its onlooker back in time to a place of grandeur and true feminine beauty. She has left her mark on photography, art, and her work has preserved a space in time where women were beautiful even when fully clad.
She was born in Brooklyn, NY on June 15, 1917. Her parents were Russian immigrants and Jewish intellectuals. She graduated in 1933 the Textile High School in Manhattan. There she met her future husband, Paul Himmel, and Alexey Brodovitch, who would serve as mentor to Lillian later in her photographic career.
Evelyn Tripp 1954
Her career as a photographer led her to work for Junior Bazaar and Harper Bazaar, and the latter would be where most of her work showcased from 1950-1965. Her photographs are primarily in black and white, which add an element of class, glamor, and sheer chic. In the 1970′s, Lillian was disappointed with the way that the photographic movement of womens’ fashion was moving and hence threw away her undeveloped negatives. Thankfully, these negatives were preserved well enough so that digital photography technology could restore them.
Lillian Bassman
Her work is still shown around the world, and her legacy will remain as one of the greatest photographers of all time. I imagine that Lillian encountered resistance due to her gender and her work in the field of fashion photography. Yet, despite the odds, she became critically acclaimed as “one the of the best photographers of the post-war period”. As a woman, I am enthralled with the work of this woman. It is in my opinion that she has done more to express the truly unique elements of female beauty than contemporary photographers who believe that less clothing is more. I suspect that Lillian Bassman didn’t capture women of color on her camera potentially because of the times in which she was working in fashion photography. I would have loved to see her represent women of color.
Please read Lillian Bassman’s book entitled Women.
When you see the pictures of Lillian Bassman, do you think that women were portrayed more or less beautifully than they are depicted today?
Please stay involved in our Herstory Month Series!
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Rewriting Madams back into Herstory
Violence Against Women on College Campuses
Womanly Affairs: Understanding the women sleeping with married men
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Black History’s Leading Literary Lady
The Black Panther Party For Self Defense
Intelligence of Interference? COINTELPRO and the Black Panther Party
“How they sold Marcus Garvey for rice”-LH
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Vote to Discontinue Black History Month
Where’s my Forty Acres and a Mule
Too black to be white, too white to be black
I don’t date outside my species!
Authors bio is coming up shortly.
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Thank you for including such beautiful pictures in your article. They complimented the piece wonderfully!
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Jennifer,
Thanks for reading it! She’s a phenomenal photographer! These are three of my absolutely favorite pictures by her! I’m glad that you enjoyed it!
Eryn
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[...] The Herstory of Lillian Bassman [...]
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I think she conveys a sense of class that is sorely missing from today’s culture. Perhaps it’s the B&W film (to which I, admittedly, am partial), but whatever, these sleek, sophisticated photographs convey her subjects’ self-assuredness quite elegantly.
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth,
It makes me want to do a COMPLETE makeover of my wardrobe. I saw an exhibition of her work and it’s really overwhelming. I was overcome with the truth in the beauty that I saw. Elegance and class completely outweigh what is seen today.
Eryn
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That’s probably why my husband and I enjoy watching movies from that time period. Elegance and class. No slam bang visuals and earth-shattering noise there.
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priceless silhouette; thank you!
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[...] The Herstory of Lillian Bassman [...]
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[...] The Herstory of Lillian Bassman [...]
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[...] The Herstory of Lillian Bassman [...]
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