Irving Penn - Photographs from the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago New York Wednesday, October 1, 2014 | Phillips

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  • Literature

    The Art Institute of Chicago, Irving Penn: A Career in Photography, p. 179
    Knopf/Callaway, Irving Penn: Passage, A Work Record, p. 81
    Szarkowsi, Irving Penn, pl. 58
    Vogue, 15 September 1950, p. 134

  • Catalogue Essay

    In 1950, Vogue photographer Irving Penn was commissioned to photograph the Paris haute-couture collections. Penn had already established his reputation as a trailblazing fashion photographer, celebrated for his minimalist settings and his emphasis on volume, texture, and silhouette. He requested that Vogue set him up in a studio with ample natural light, on the seventh floor of a defunct photography school. Over the course of ten days Penn worked with three of the leading models of the day— Régine, Jean Patchett, and, as seen in the current lot, Lisa Fonssagrives, in a variety of poses that showcased the groundbreaking fashions of postwar Paris. The statuesque Fonssagrives, just shy of her fortieth birthday and in the prime of her career—she and Penn had married earlier in the year—is seen wearing a dress by Marcel Rochas, among the most celebrated couturiers at the time. The dramatic silhouette of the gown is accentuated by the voluminous ruffled skirt and the ethereal shawl that is elegantly draped around her torso. Mermaid Dress (Rochas), Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn is an homage to fashion, to Penn’s new consort, and to his distinct eye for the elegant and the awe-inducing.

    In 1997, Irving Penn donated his archive to the Art Institute of Chicago. Divided in two parts- the paper archives and the photographic archives- the gift offers a window into the career of the legendary photographer and also helped establish the Art Institute as a leading repository for his work. Comprised of negatives, transparencies, contact sheets and test prints, including the Vogue tear sheet where Mermaid Dress (Rochas), Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn originally appeared, the photographic archive complements the extensive collection of Penn exhibition prints in the Art Institute’s collection which encompasses over 200 works. The print offered here, a duplicate to the platinum-palladium print held in that gift, was one of the first in the edition made by Penn in 1979 and was purchased soon afterward by Mr. Taub.

  • Artist Biography

    Irving Penn

    American • 1917 - 2009

    Arresting portraits, exquisite flowers, luscious food and glamorous models populate Irving Penn's meticulously rendered, masterful prints. Penn employed the elegant simplicity of a gray or white backdrop to pose his subjects, be it a model in the latest Parisian fashion, a famous subject or veiled women in Morocco.

    Irving Penn's distinct aesthetic transformed twentieth-century elegance and style, with each brilliant composition beautifully articulating his subjects. Working across several photographic mediums, Penn was a master printmaker. Regardless of the subject, each and every piece is rendered with supreme beauty. 

    View More Works

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT A. TAUB, SOLD TO BENEFIT THE ACQUISITION FUNDS

79

Mermaid Dress (Rochas), Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn

1950
Platinum-palladium print, printed 1979.
19 1/2 x 19 5/8 in. (49.5 x 49.8 cm)
Signed, titled, numbered 2/25, annotated 'Paris' in pencil, Condé Nast copyright credit reproduction limitation and edition stamps on the reverse of the aluminum flush-mount.

Estimate
$80,000 - 120,000 

Sold for $93,750

Contact Specialist
Vanessa Kramer Hallett
Worldwide Head, Photographs
vhallett@phillips.com

Caroline Deck
Head of Sale
cdeck@phillips.com

General Enquiries:
+1 212 940 1245

Photographs from the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago

New York Auction 1 October