It was in the mid-nineties, thumbing through an
Irving Penn book entitled Pasage, when I first discovered the classic beauty of Lisa F. I was captivated to say the least, and was on a mission to find more images of her. The next year,my wish was granted in the form of a thorough coffetable book, celebrating her life as a model, artist, sculptor, dancer, photographer, clothing designer,athlete,pilot,wife and mother. A Real Supermodel. The book is now out of print and fetching up to $300.00-worth every cent. Five Stars *****
Lisa Fonssagrives: Three Decades of Classic Fashion Photography (Hardcover)
by David Seidner (Editor), Martin Harrison (Author)
Lisa Fonssagrives (May 17, 1911 – February 4, 1992), credited by some as the first "supermodel."
Her image appeared on the cover of many magazines during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, from Town & Country, Life, and the original Vanity Fair.
She worked with fashion photographers including
George Hoyningen-Huene,
Man Ray,
Horst,
Erwin Blumenfeld,
George Platt Lynes,
Richard Avedon, and
Edgar de Evia. She married photographer, Irving Penn, in 1950.
She was the inspiration and subject of some of Penn's greatest photographs, particularly his studies of French haute couture.
Lisa Fonssagrives opera glove gallery:
http://www.operagloves.com/Classicstars/LisaFonssagrives/lisa.html
