THE MET, NEW YORK
LILLIAN BASSMAN: BAZAAR AND BEYOND – THROUGH JULY 26, 2026
Lillian
Bassman (American, 1917–2012), A Report to Skeptics 1952, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Lizzie and Eric Himmel, 2025
(2025.889.27) © Estate of Lillian Bassman
La photographie de mode peut-elle être dangereuse ? Lillian Bassman (Brooklyn, New York,1917-2012) en a fait l’expérience lorsqu’en 1950, elle a commencé à réaliser des photographies si abstraites que les vêtements y étaient à peine visibles. À une autre époque, une telle approche aurait pu compromettre le succès commercial mais le timing de Bassman, était exceptionnel.
Can fashion photography be dangerous? Lillian Bassman (Brooklyn, New York,1917-2012) was told as much when, in 1950, she started making photographs so abstract that you could barely see the clothes. In an earlier era, such an approach might have precluded commercial success.
La
fotografia di moda può essere pericolosa? A Lillian Bassman (Brooklyn, New York,1917-2012) fu detto proprio
questo quando, nel 1950, iniziò a realizzare fotografie così astratte da
rendere quasi invisibili gli abiti. In
un'epoca precedente, un approccio del genere avrebbe potuto precludere il
successo commerciale ma il tempismo di Bassman, fu provvidenziale.
Design by Lillian Bassman with
photograph by Rouben Samberg (American, 1918–1999), The Vocabulary of
Courage, 1944. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Lizzie and
Eric Himmel, 2025 © Estate of Lillian Bassman
En 1941, à 24 ans, elle accepte un poste de graphiste chez Harper’s Bazaar, où un groupe d’artistes et de rédacteurs réinventait alors l’esthétique du magazine. Avec eux, elle contribue à introduire une sensibilité d’avant-garde dans les kiosques à journaux américains, ouvrant de nouvelles perspectives à la photographie imprimée.
Bassman’s timing, though, could not have been better; in 1941, at age 24, she took a design job at Harper’s Bazaar, where a group of artists and editors were then reimagining how the magazine should look. With them, she helped introduce an avant-garde sensibility to the American newsstand, advancing new possibilities for photography in print.
In un'epoca precedente, un approccio del genere avrebbe potuto precludere il successo commerciale ma il tempismo di Bassman, fu eccezionale. Nel 1941, a soli 24 anni, accettò un incarico di grafico presso Harper's Bazaar, dove un gruppo di artisti e redattori stava ripensando l'aspetto della rivista. Insieme a loro, contribuì a introdurre una sensibilità d'avanguardia nelle edicole americane, aprendo nuove possibilità per la fotografia su carta stampata.
Lillian Bassman, Variant of The Wonders of Water, 1959,
Platinum print, ca. 2007. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of
Lizzie and Eric Himmel, 2025. © Estate of Lillian Bassman
Grâce à un don exceptionnel fait au Met, l'exposition « Lillian Bassman : Bazaar and Beyond » met en lumière l'influence et l'audace de sa carrière dans la presse magazine. Alternant entre la New School de Manhattan et le mouvement « New Look » à Paris, elle retrace le parcours de Bassman, de ses débuts comme apprentie designer à son rôle de directrice artistique et de photographe accomplie. Ses tirages d'époque rares, ses collages et ses maquettes dessinent une histoire inattendue du modernisme, réinventée pour les pages de la presse populaire.
In works from a remarkable gift to The Met, Lillian Bassman: Bazaar and Beyond highlights the influence and audacity of her magazine career. The exhibition flips between the New School in Manhattan and the “New Look” in Paris, charting Bassman’s course from design apprentice to art director and accomplished photographer. Its rare vintage prints, collages, and maquettes lay out an unlikely history of modernism, refashioned for the pages of the popular press.
Attraverso una straordinaria donazione al Met, la mostra "Lillian Bassman: Bazaar and Beyond" mette in luce l'influenza e l'audacia della sua carriera nel mondo delle riviste. L'esposizione si snoda tra la New School di Manhattan e il "New Look" parigino, ripercorrendo il percorso di Bassman da apprendista stilista a direttrice artistica e affermata fotografa. Le rare stampe d'epoca, i collage e i modelli in scala delineano un'insolita storia del modernismo, reinterpretato per le pagine della stampa popolare.
Lillian Bassman, Summer Supplements: Daytime
Editions, 1959, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Lizzie
and Eric Himmel, 2025. © Estate of Lillian Bassman