Louise Dahl-Wolfe was an American photographer. She is known primarily for her work for Harper's Bazaar, in association with fashion editor Diana Vreeland.
She born in 1895 in San Francisco and she studied art, painting and design before focusing on photography from 1919. In her early 20's she visited the studio of Anne Brigman who had been one of the photographers associated. During the 1930s, she photographed rural life during the Great Depression. Dahl-Wolfe often juxtaposed her models with famous works of art, resulting in surprising and irreverent compositions. Fashion assignments led her to locations around the world, where she posed her models outdoors, in natural light. Dahl-Wolfe was known for taking photographs outdoors, with natural light in distant locations from South America to Africa in what became known as "environmental" fashion photography.
In 1936, she joined Harper’s Bazaar and contributed to the major changes magazine publishing and fashion photography were going through with her straightforward and skillfully composed images. With Diana Vreeland and Carmel Snow, Louise Dahl-Wolfe depicted the new concept of sportswear fashion designed by such creators as Claire McCardell, highlighting a typical American style and a modern active woman - epitomized by a young Lauren Bacall - in outdoors and under a natural light.
She is known for having discovered a teenage Lauren Bacall. She was a great influence on photographers Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. She was also a very fine portrait photographer. Notable portraits include: Mae West, Cecil Beaton, Eudora Welty, W. H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Orson Welles, Carson McCullers, Edward Hopper, Colette and Josephine Baker. One of her favourite subjects was the model Mary Jane Russell, who is estimated to have appeared in about thirty percent of Dahl-Wolfe's photographs.
From 1958 until her retirement in 1960, Dahl-Wolfe worked as a freelance photographer for Vogue, Sports Illustrated, and other periodicals.
Louise Dahl-Wolfe è stata una fotografa americana, conosciuta soprattutto per il suo lavoro per Harper's Bazaar, in collaborazione con la fashion editor Diana Vreeland.
Nata nel 1895 a San Francisco ha studiato arte, pittura e design prima di concentrarsi sulla fotografia dal 1919. Nei primi anni '20 visita lo studio di Anna Brigman e diviene una dei fotografi associati. Nel corso del 1930, ha fotografato la vita rurale durante la Grande Depressione.
Dahl-Wolfe spesso giustappone i suoi modelli con famose opere d'arte, con conseguente composizioni sorprendenti e irriverenti. I servizi di moda la portano in giro per il mondo, dove fotografa i suoi modelli all'aperto, con luce naturale. Dahl-Wolfe era nota per scattare fotografie all'aperto, con luce naturale in luoghi distanti dal Sud America all'Africa in quella che divenne nota come fotografia di moda "ambientale".
Nel 1936, entra a far parte di Harper's Bazaar e contribuisce ai grandi cambiamenti che la rivista stava subendo grazie anche alle sue immagini semplici e sapientemente composte.
Con Diana Vreeland e Carmel Snow, Louise Dahl-Wolfe raffigura il nuovo concetto di moda con abbigliamento sportivo progettato da designers come Claire McCardell, mettendo in evidenza uno stile americano tipico di una donna moderna e attiva - con una giovane Lauren Bacall - all'aperto e sotto una luce naturale. Dahl-Wolfe è infatti nota per aver scoperto un' adolescente Lauren Bacall. Ha avuto una grande influenza per i fotografi Irving Penn e Richard Avedon. E' stata anche un'ottima ritrattista. I suoi ritratti includono: Mae West, Cecil Beaton, Eudora Welty, W. H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Orson Welles, Carson McCullers, Edward Hopper, Colette e Josephine Baker. Uno dei suoi soggetti preferiti è stata la modella Mary Jane Russell, si stima che sia apparsa a in circa il trenta per cento delle fotografie di Dahl-Wolfe. Dal 1958 fino al suo ritiro nel 1960, Dahl-Wolfe ha lavorato come fotografa freelance per Vogue, Sports Illustrated, e altri periodici.
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| Liz Gibbons as photographer- 1938 |
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| Herper's Bazaar - 1938 |
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| Mary Sykes with postcards, Puerto Rico- 19338 |
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| Night Bather - 1938 |
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| Lauren Baccall in Helena Rubenstein's bathroom - 1942 |
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| California Desert - 1948 |
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| Mary Jane Russell in Dior - 1950 |
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| Natalie in Grès coat - 1950 |
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| Dior Ballgown, Paris - 1950 |
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| Mary Jane Russell - 1951 |
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| Suzy Parker in Jacques Fath Gown - 1953 |
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| Luki in Balenciaga coat - 1953 |
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| Coco Chanel in her apartment, Paris - 1954 |
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| Evelyn Tripp, Herper's Bazaar - 1955 |
