Lillian Bassman - Vintage Lingerie Photography Redux

Lillian Bassman 1955

The Line Lengthens, model unknown, lingerie by Lily of France, 1955 

Lillian Bassman 1954

The Mold of the Princess- Everything Black and Lacy,
model unknown, lingerie by Lily of France,
Harper’s Bazaar, 1954

Stunning, Bravo! This work is by Lillian Bassman and is currently on view at the Staley Wise Gallery in New York. The exhibition of Bassmans reconstituted vintage lingerie photographs are on view from April 13 - May 26, 2012, so there is a little while left to catch them. Or if you've been, let me know what you thought. You can view some of it on line at Staley Wise.


From the website:


Lillian Bassman: Lingerie

The Merry Widow, the garter belt, the girdle, stockings, and numerous other confining, uncomfortable, and erotic relics of our past are glorified in this exhibition of black and white photographs by Lillian Bassman. Originally seen in advertisements and Harper’s Bazaar Magazine, Bassman has transformed her work into mysterious, evocative images with her signature darkroom manipulation, highlighting her photographs with light and shadow to create unique works of art. Lillian Bassman’s career as a photographer began at Harper’s Bazaar in 1948 working for the great art director Alexey Brodovitch. In the early 1990’s Bassman manipulated these early images in the darkroom and transformed them through bleaching and blurring techniques into original works of art, investing them with poetry and glamour. The transformed photographs display extreme delicacy of gesture and quintessential femininity, creating an aura of romance and charm.