Richard Avedon, Robert Frank... Lillian Bassman. In an era of stunning black-and-white photographers, Bassman was one of the best. She photographed her first couture collection in 1949, and the majority of her work appeared in Harper’s Bazaar from 1950 to 1955. Her work from this era is suffused with a passion for femininity, beauty, mystery and sensuality. The women in her world are grown-ups who are confident, cool and in charge of their private lives and public personas, idealized in a moment of perpetual elegance.
Then the 1960s came along with waif-like models and childlike clothing, projecting an immaturity combined with a blatant sexuality that offended her. In the 1970s, she destroyed negatives that spanned decades of work decades and stashed others in a trash bag.
In the early 1990s, she retrieved the remaining images and began to experimenting with bleaches and blurring techniques. She’s now 94 years old and continues to explore digital photography, abstract color and Photoshop.
Kate Spade recently introduced a capsule collection, including a tote bag, a small gia bag and a scarf, featuring Bassman’s manipulation of her 1961 photo Touch of Dew.
Lilliam Bassman Little Gia: lizard-embossed leather, 8.2" h x 5.9" w
Lillian Bassman Scarf: silk twill, 28" square
“Femininity, Salvaged,” by Ginia Bellafante, The New York Times, July 16, 2009
Lillian Bassman: Women, by Deborah Solomon
Lillian Bassman & Paul Himmel, by Ingo Taubhorn
