Revered for her unblinking social realism, the Austrian-born American photographer chronicled high society Manhattan – and everyday life. From the Austrian-born photographer Lisette Model who is credited with reinventing postwar documentary photography in the US to shaping the direction of postwar photography, these pictures will amaze you.
All photographs: Lisette Model. An exhibition of her work is at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, until 21 October
Check them out for more information and start to see our world through photos!
Fashion show at Hotel Pierre, New York, circa 1940-46
The Austrian-born photographer Lisette Model is credited with reinventing postwar documentary photography in the US with her shots of high society and everyday people.
Sammy’s, New York, circa 1940-44
Model came to photography via music, studying piano and compositional theory in Vienna under Schoenberg
International Refugee Organization auction, New York, 1948
She emigrated to Paris in the 1920s to pursue vocal studies, before giving up a career in music to focus on the visual arts
Reflections, New York, circa 1939-1945
After studying painting with cubist painter André Lhote, Model turned her attention to photography, though she credited Schoenberg with being her greatest teacher and influence
Running Legs, Forty-Second Street, New York, circa 1940-41
She immigrated to the US in 1938 with her husband, the painter Evsa Model, and worked as a professional photographer, publishing regularly in Harper’s Bazaar, Cue and PM Weekly
First Reflection, New York, circa 1939-40
From 1951 until her death in 1983, Lisette Model taught at the New School for Social Research in New York
Opera, San Francisco, 1949
Among her students were Peter Hujar and Diane Arbus. The latter ascribed to Model the advice: ‘The more specific you are, the more general it’ll be’
Running Legs, Forty-Second Street, New York, circa 1940-41
Her pioneering street photography, made with a 35mm camera, primarily in Nice and New York’s Lower East Side is characteristically direct and forthright
Bois de Boulogne, Paris, 1933-1938
According to the International Center for Photography, Model redefined the concept of documentary photography in the US, shaping the direction of postwar photography