Mary Jane Russell in Dior Dress, Paris

Description

A 1921 visit to esteemed photographer Anne Brigman inspired Louise Dahl-Wolfe, who had graduated from art school, to start making photographic nudes and self-portraits. By 1930, she had established a professional career as a photographer working for a variety of magazines, and in 1936, she became the first female staff photographer at Harper’s Bazaar, where she was celebrated for her fresh, innovative pictures that showed women as strong, confident, and independent. Along with her colleagues, editor in chief Carmel Snow and fashion editor Diana Vreeland, Dahl-Wolfe represented a powerful new female voice in fashion.