Toni Frissell, whose career began in the 1930s, made history for several reasons. She's now known for her iconic use of unorthodox angles; for having moved fashion photography outside; for having been a woman doing groundbreaking work in a male-dominated industry; for symbolizing the desire of newswomen to move from "soft news" of fashion and society pages into the "hard news" of the front page; and for documenting some of the first American women at the front of World War II. Although always the artist at heart, she remarked, “I’d rather stalk with a camera than a gun.”Â
Frida Kahlo standing next to an agave plant has long been quite a favorite among our collectors. For good reason. Captured on assignment for Vogue magazine, this photograph is a clear example of the edge Frissell found in fashion photography al fresco. The low point of view Frissell chose for this shot, against the backdrop of the enormous, spiky agave plant, is the drama the subject deserves. Raising her shawl like a wing and gazing directly into the camera, Kahlo appears almost monumental in stature, a figure of fortitude and divinity, grace and guts.
Thanks to Frissell, “action fashion” photographs like this became a game changer in the industry, which was accustomed to large format cameras fixed on totally still subjects. This freshness and spontaneity oozes from Frissell's photo A couple walking along the Seine River in Paris. We’re not sure if the couple walking along the Seine River in Paris were actually models, posed under Frissell’s exacting eye, or if they were indeed a pair of real-life Parisian lovers huddled together on a foggy stroll, but it sure is cinematic either way.
Our newest release, Floating, is one of these "action fashion" photos. Although it was shot in a pool, the rippling water stretches edge-to-edge in this image, denying us the context—and the need for context—of lounge chairs, fruity drinks, or similarly manmade and frivolous surroundings. The monochrome water, lit by the stark midday sun and almost abstracted here, has an air of mystery. Contrastingly, Fashion Models in Swim Suits, is the most traditional of our Frissell photographs, yet still powerful. Using lighting that imitated the angle and crispness of the midday sun, she plays on the stark contrast between the models and the seamless backdrop behind them.
So you could say that Frissell’s work continues to make a splash. Shot for a quickly-changing industry, all of these photographs are timeless. As is the pleasure one gets seeing a woman lead a 1940s photoshoot while her husband and child play on the grass behind her.
