Louise Dahl-Wolfe: A Retrospective [Hardcover]

Vicki Goldberg (Author), Nan Richardson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

Interviews with Richard Avedon, Suzy Parker, Eileen Ford, Lillian Bassman, Mary Jane Russell, and Lauren Bacall "Dahl-Wolfe freed color from convention and timidity. . . . Today, her pictures continue to seem just a little ahead of their time."

-Vicki Goldberg, American Photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe (1895-1989) was one of the great fashion photographers of her era-a woman who contributed 86 cover images and thousands of interior shots to Harper's Bazaar between 1936 and 1959. Her elegant, beautifully composed photographs-many shot on location, in natural light, and in color-helped define a new American style that was wholesome yet worldly. This lavish book is the first-ever retrospective on this influential photographer. In addition to fashion images, the 140 photographs collected here include a sampling of Dahl-Wolfe's portrait work-unforgettable images of Josephine Baker, Edward Hopper, Eudora Welty, and Jean Cocteau, among other luminaries. Louise Dahl-Wolfe is a rare treat for everyone who loves fashion and photography. 140 illustrations, 100 in full color, 9 x 12" DOROTHY TWINING GLOBUS is director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. VICKY GOLDBERG is an internationally known photography critic and historian, and a contributor to The New York Times. NAN RICHARDSON, former editor of Aperture, is curator of the Louise Dahl-Wolfe exhibition that this book accompanies. EXHIBITION SCHEDULE Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York June 12-Aug. 13, 2000 Center for Creative Photography, TucsonSept.-Nov. 2000

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Published to coincide with an exhibition on fashion photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, this artfully designed book reproduces all of the show's images in glorious color. Through her photographs, Dahl-Wolfe created a new idea of the American woman as casual and comfortable yet chic. She posed her models (many for Harper's Bazaar) in foreign locations such as North Africa and South America and contrasted them in front of patterned backgrounds and modern art. The book's two essays, written by New York Times photography critic Vicki Goldberg and curator Nan Richardson, discuss Dahl-Wolfe's photographs in terms of their formal qualities and in relation to the photographer's life. They demonstrate that Dahl-Wolfe was an innovator in her use of color photography as well as in her concern with the qualities of natural light, composition, and balance. Recommended for any photography collection. Sandra Rothenberg, Framingham State Coll., MA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Here, finally, is a tribute to Dahl-Wolfe, whose 86 Harper's Bazaar^B covers and innumerable interior fashion shots shaped the focus of contemporary commercial photography. Accompanying essays impart the facts about her life, and from them we learn that Dahl-Wolfe was a dabbler in the arts until the camera captured her permanent attention, and she was a black-and-white portrait painter of such celebrities as Josephine Baker, Jean Cocteau, Colette, and others. Quotes from the likes of Lauren Bacall and Eileen Ford make us realize how unforgettable a figure she was. The photographs, however, are even more unforgettable, and they remain the book's primary focus. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; 1st edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810940515
• ISBN-13: 978-0810940512
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 0.8 x 12.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,594,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good presentation of Dahl-Wolfe's Photography, July 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Louise Dahl-Wolfe: A Retrospective (Hardcover)

Louise Dahl-Wolfe shot some captivating images, as evidenced by the cover, and apparently was one of the best fashion photographers of the middle 20th C. The book contains 2 essays which kind of overlap in content and some plates of her B&W and color work, as well as outtakes, and some reportage work. The printing quality was okay, with the exception that a lot of the color photographs were scanned from either the printing plates (or more likely) magazines because they had visible dot pattern. I don't know if the original color images had faded beyond repair, were lost, or, the authors may have made made an aesthetic/representation choice here. One essay described how Dahl-Wolfe was very exacting with the printing presses and perhaps the printed images best represented her vision, however, for me the dot artifacts detracted from the pictures, which were quite excellent. It is easy to see why Dahl-Wolfe is regarded as an early master of color fashion photography. Worth picking up on overstock if interested in fashion or fashion photography.