Lisa Fonssagrives
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Lisa Fonssagrives (May 17, 1911 – February 4, 1992), born Lisa Anderson in Sweden, was a supermodel, dancer, fashion designer, photographer and sculptor.
[edit] Biography
Lisa Fonssagrives has been credited as the first supermodel[1]; no model has surpassed her number of Vogue magazine covers[citation needed]. Her image appeared on the cover of many magazines during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s from Town & Country, Life and the original Vanity Fair. Fonssagrives' early training in ballet added to her grace and poise. She moved from Sweden to Paris to train for ballet. Fonssagrives once described herself as simply a "good clothes hanger"[1].
She was an inspiration for fashion photographers which included George Hoyningen-Huene, Man Ray, Horst, Erwin Blumenfeld, George Platt Lynes, Richard Avedon, and Edgar de Evia. She married Parisian photographer Fernand Fonssagrives in 1935; they divorced. She later married photographer Irving Penn in 1950.
Asked how she maintained her figure and 17-inch waistline, she always insisted on the importance of eating in small quantities [citation needed]. She would at times consume as many as ten tiny meals a day [citation needed]. To her, a tiny meal might mean only six grapes, a single slice of cheese, one cracker and half a glass of wine [citation needed].
She went on to become a sculptor and was represented by the Marlborough Gallery in Manhattan.
Lisa Fonssagrives died at the age of 81, survived by her second husband and daughter Mia Fonssagrives-Solow, a costume designer.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Rosemary Ranck, "The First Supermodel", The New York Times February 9, 1997online retrieved September 24, 2006
[edit] Bibliography
- Gross, Michael: Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women, New York: W. Morrow, 1995, ISBN 0-688-12659-6
- Seidner, David (ed): Lisa Fonssagrives: Three Decades of Classic Fashion Photography, New York: Vendome Press, 1996, ISBN 0-86565-978-8
