Lisette Model, American, b. Austria, 1901-1983 Born Elise Amelie Felicie Stern (the family name was changed to Seybert in 1903) in Vienna, active first in France and then New York, Lisette Model became known for her interest in unconventional subject matter photographed in a rapid, straightforward manner. Following studies in music and painting, she took up photography in 1933 while living in Paris and the next year began a series picturing vacationers along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. In 1938, Model and her husband, Russian painter Evsa Model, immigrated to New York City. In the early 1940s, Model's work began to appear in PM's Weekly (where Ralph Steiner was art editor), Cue, and U.S. Camera, and two of her photographs were purchased by Beaumont Newhall for the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She also received occasional assignments from Ladies' Home Journal, Look, and Life, and began an association with Harper's Bazaar, producing images for Alexey Brodovitch, the magazine's influential art director. Model's photographs of Coney Island, a Bowery nightclub, blind people, settlement houses, and the circus appeared in Bazaar from 1941-55. The Photo League organized her first one-person show in 1941; exhibitions followed at the Art Institute of Chicago (1943) and the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco (1946). In the late 1940s, Model began teaching photography, first at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (1949) and then at the New School for Social Research in New York (1951-82). She also taught privately, becoming over the years a respected and influential mentor. Model continued to exhibit her work throughout the 1950s-70s and in 1965 was awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. She remained active as a teacher and photographer until her death in 1983. Seven years later her work was featured in a major exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. M.M. Source: Cleveland Museum

No results found.