Commentary: In Golden Fox, Blue Fox, a photograph which appeared in Harper’s Bazaar in November 1954, Marilyn Ambrose, a prominent model of the time, is seen intimately, her face half in shadow, half in a soft glow of light. Ambrose’s visage is...
Black-and-white photography; Gelatin silver print; Women photographers; Fashion
Ruth St. Denis in costume for a Japanese Dance of the Genroku Period. Though this image seems to be staged rather than taken from an actual performance, St. Denis did have a number of dances in which she wore Japanese Geisha costumes. The most...
Barbara Mullen’s celebrated twenty-inch waist is at the center of Flat Hat Bare Back, which Bassman shot for Harper’s Bazaar in 1958. The formal, compositional elements of black-and-white fashion photography, which have since become Bassman’s...
Black-and-white photography; Gelatin silver print; Women photographers; Fashion
Photographic postcard of Ruth St. Denis. "The Incense" was an alluring piece that combined a series of slow, rhythmic steps with mesmerizingly fast arm movements. Though St. Denis entered bearing an incense try, as pictured here, she proceeded to...
Portrait of the dancer Ruth St. Denis, wearing an elaborate costume. One in a series of photographs of St. Denis taken by Weston, this image presents her as a delicate and picturesque icon. Weston's work before 1920 often features both a soft...
Portrait of dancer Ruth St. Denis, wearing an elaborate costume. Created during St. Denis' European tour of 1908, "The Yogi" was a solo composition that incorporated yoga exercises in its reflection of Indian spirituality. The dance required rigid...
Portrait photography; Black-and-white photography; St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968; Dance costume
Image of Ruth St. Denis in character. One of St. Denis' earliest dance creations, "Radha" was first performed privately for a group of society patronesses in 1905. With their enthusiastic support, St. Denis was catapulted into society circles,...
Portrait photography; Black-and-white photography; St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968; Dance costume
Portrait of dancer Ruth St. Denis in her Indian-inspired "Nautch Dance." Though nautch dancing originated in northern Indian temples, over time it progressed to palaces, and eventually to the streets. St. Denis appropriated basic movements from...
