Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Encyclopedia
Louise Emma Augusta Dahl (November 19, 1895 – December 11, 1989) was a noted American photographer. She is known primarily for her work for Harper's Bazaar
, in association with fashion editor Diana Vreeland
.
to Norwegian immigrant parents. In 1914 she began her studies at the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute
) where she stayed for six years. She studied design, decoration and architecture at Columbia University
, New York in 1923. In 1928 she married the sculptor Meyer Wolfe
, who constructed the backgrounds of many of her photos.
to Africa
in what became known as "environmental" fashion photography.
She preferred portraiture to fashion photography. Notable portraits include: Mae West
, Cecil Beaton
, Eudora Welty
, W. H. Auden
, Christopher Isherwood
, Orson Welles
, Carson McCullers
, Edward Hopper
, Colette
and Josephine Baker
. She is known for her role in the discovery of a teenage Lauren Bacall
who she photographed for the March 1943 cover of Harper's Bazaar
. She was a great influence on photographers Irving Penn
and Richard Avedon
. One of her assistants was fashion and celebrity photographer, Milton H. Greene
.
From 1933 to 1960, Dahl-Wolfe operated a New York City
photographic studio that was home to the freelance advertising and fashion work she made for stores including Bonwit Teller
and Saks Fifth Avenue
. From 1936 to 1958 Dahl-Wolfe was a staff fashion photographer at Harper’s Bazaar. From 1958 until her retirement in 1960, Dahl-Wolfe worked as a freelance photographer for Vogue
, Sports Illustrated
, and other periodicals.
Louise Dalhl-Wolfe lived many of her later years in Nashville, Tennessee
. She died in New Jersey
of pneumonia
in 1989. The full archive of Dahl-Wolfe's work is located at the Center for Creative Photography
(CCP) at the University of Arizona
in Tucson
, which also manages the copyright of her work.
In 1999, her work was the subject of a documentary film entitled Louise Dahl-Wolfe: Painting with Light
. The film featured the only surviving modern footage of Dahl-Wolfe, including extensive interviews. It was written and directed by Tom Neff
, edited by Barry Rubinow
and produced by Neff and Madeline Bell
.
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, in association with fashion editor Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Born as Diana Dalziel, Vreeland was the eldest daughter of American socialite mother Emily Key Hoffman...
.
Background
Dahl was born in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
to Norwegian immigrant parents. In 1914 she began her studies at the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
) where she stayed for six years. She studied design, decoration and architecture at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New York in 1923. In 1928 she married the sculptor Meyer Wolfe
Meyer Wolfe
Meyer Wolfe , also known as Meyer R. Wolfe, was an American sculptor. His best work is representative of a school of regional realism that arose in the 1930s as a response to European Modernism....
, who constructed the backgrounds of many of her photos.
Career
Dahl-Wolfe was known for taking photographs outdoors, with natural light in distant locations from South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in what became known as "environmental" fashion photography.
She preferred portraiture to fashion photography. Notable portraits include: Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
, Eudora Welty
Eudora Welty
Eudora Alice Welty was an American author of short stories and novels about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published...
, W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
, Christopher Isherwood
Christopher Isherwood
Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood was an English-American novelist.-Early life and work:Born at Wyberslegh Hall, High Lane, Cheshire in North West England, Isherwood spent his childhood in various towns where his father, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, was stationed...
, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers was an American writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and two plays, as well as essays and some poetry. Her first novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter explores the spiritual isolation of misfits and outcasts of the South...
, Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching...
, Colette
Colette
Colette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
and Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
. She is known for her role in the discovery of a teenage Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
who she photographed for the March 1943 cover of Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
. She was a great influence on photographers Irving Penn
Irving Penn
Irving Penn was an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography.-Early career:Irving Penn studied under Alexey Brodovitch at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art from which he was graduated in 1938. Penn's drawings were published by Harper's Bazaar and he...
and Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon was an American photographer. An obituary published in The New York Times said that "his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century."-Photography career:Avedon was born in New York City to a Jewish Russian...
. One of her assistants was fashion and celebrity photographer, Milton H. Greene
Milton H. Greene
Milton H. Greene was a fashion and celebrity photographer. He was active for over four decades. He is best known for the photoshoots he did with Marilyn Monroe.-Life and career:...
.
From 1933 to 1960, Dahl-Wolfe operated a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
photographic studio that was home to the freelance advertising and fashion work she made for stores including Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller was a department store in New York City founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street. In 1897 Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd Street, East of Sixth Avenue...
and Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
. From 1936 to 1958 Dahl-Wolfe was a staff fashion photographer at Harper’s Bazaar. From 1958 until her retirement in 1960, Dahl-Wolfe worked as a freelance photographer for Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, and other periodicals.
Louise Dalhl-Wolfe lived many of her later years in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. She died in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in 1989. The full archive of Dahl-Wolfe's work is located at the Center for Creative Photography
Center for Creative Photography
The Center for Creative Photography , established in 1975 and located on the University of Arizona campus, is a research facility and archival repository containing the full archives of over sixty of the most famous American photographers including those of Edward Weston, Harry Callahan and Garry...
(CCP) at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, which also manages the copyright of her work.
In 1999, her work was the subject of a documentary film entitled Louise Dahl-Wolfe: Painting with Light
Louise Dahl-Wolfe: Painting with Light
Louise Dahl-Wolfe: Painting with Light is a documentary film about Louise Dahl-Wolfe, an important woman in the history of photography...
. The film featured the only surviving modern footage of Dahl-Wolfe, including extensive interviews. It was written and directed by Tom Neff
Tom Neff
Thomas Linden Neff, known as Tom Neff, is a film executive, director and producer, born in Chicago, Illinois. Currently, he lives in Nashville, Tennessee.-Education:Neff received his Bachelor of Arts from Lawrence University with a major in English...
, edited by Barry Rubinow
Barry Rubinow
Barry Rubinow is a film executive and editor, born in Glen Rock, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. Currently, he lives in West Hills, California.-Education:...
and produced by Neff and Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, having arrived from the US in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with vocal group The Bradford Singers.-Career:She worked as a session singer, most notably backing for Dusty...
.
Selected works
- Louise Dahl-Wolfe: A Photographer’s Scrapbook (New York: St. Martin’s/Marek, 1984)
Other reading
- Goldberg, Vicki and Nan Richardson Louise Dahl-Wolfe: A Retrospective (Harry N. Abrams; 2000)
- Martin , Leslie A. (Ed.) Louise Dahl-Wolfe (Abrams. 2000)
External links
- Museum of Contemporary Photography Collection
- Louise Dahl-Wolfe Portfolio portfolio at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
- Louise Dahl-Wolfe: Painting with Light at the DOC: The Documentary ChannelDOC: The Documentary ChannelDocumentary Channel is a specialty channel that features documentary programming. It airs independent documentary films from around the world, including those never-before-seen in the United States....
- Louise Dahl-Wolfe FindingAid at the Center for Creative Photography
- Louise Dahl-Wolfe Images Online Center for Creative Photography (CCP) CCP at the University of Arizona has released a digital catalog of all Dahl-Wolfe's images.