Toni Frissell
Encyclopedia
Toni Frissell, or Antoinette Frissell Bacon, (March 10, 1907 - April 17, 1988) was an American
photographer, known for her fashion photography
, World War II
photographs, portraits of famous Americans and Europeans, children, and women from all walks of life.
, and with advice from Edward Steichen
. Her initial job, as a fashion photographer for Vogue
in 1931, was due to Condé Montrose Nast
personally. She later took photographs for Harper's Bazaar
. Her fashion photos, even of evening gowns and such, were often notable for their outdoor settings, emphasizing active women.
In 1941, Frissell volunteered her photographic services to the American Red Cross
. Later she worked for the Eighth Army Air Force
and became the official photographer of the Women's Army Corps
. On their behalf, she took thousands of images of nurses, front-line soldiers, WACs, African-American airmen, and orphaned children. She traveled to the European front
twice. Her moving photographs of military women and African American
fighter pilot
s in the elite 332d Fighter Group (the "Tuskegee Airmen
") were used to encourage public support for women and African Americans in the military.
, Eleanor Roosevelt
, and John F.
and Jacqueline Kennedy, and worked for Sports Illustrated
and Life
magazines. Continuing her interest in active women and sports, she was the first woman on the staff of Sports Illustrated in 1953, and continued to be one of very few female sport photographers
for several decades.
In later work she concentrated on photographing women from all walks of life, often as a commentary on the human condition.
. Descendant (GG Granddaughter) of Elisha Phelps: US Representative from Connecticut (1819-21, 1825-29). Descendant (GGG Granddaughter) of Maj. Gen. Noah Phelps
: Revolutionary War hero. Sister of Phelps Montgomery Frissell and Filmmaker Lewis Varick Frissell
who was killed in Newfoundland during the filming of “The Viking” in 1931.
Toni Frissell died of Alzheimer's disease
on April 17, 1988, in a Long Island nursing home. Her husband, Francis M. Bacon 3rd, of Bacon, Stevenson & Company, predeceased her. She is survived by a daughter, Sidney Bacon Stafford; a son, Varick Bacon; grandchildren Montgomery Bacon Brookfield, Susan Brent Loyer, and Alexandra Bacon; and great-grandchildren Montgomery Bacon Brookfield, Jr., Samuel Huntington Brookfield, Holly Brent Brookfield, Gregory Vanderbilt Brookfield, Cadence Frissell Brookfield, Laura Loyer, Varick Loyer, and Margot Loyer.
has a large collection of her photographs on pages about her, but apparently no single list of all of them.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer, known for her fashion photography
Fashion photography
Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Elle...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
photographs, portraits of famous Americans and Europeans, children, and women from all walks of life.
Pre-war career
Antoinette Frissell was born in 1907 in New York City, New York, but took photos under the name Toni Frissell, even after her marriage to Manhattan socialite McNeil Bacon. She worked with many famous photographers of the day, as an apprentice to Cecil BeatonCecil 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...
, and with advice from Edward Steichen
Edward Steichen
Edward J. Steichen was an American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator. He was the most frequently featured photographer in Alfred Stieglitz' groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its run from 1903 to 1917. Steichen also contributed the logo design and a custom typeface...
. Her initial job, as a fashion 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...
in 1931, was due to Condé Montrose Nast
Condé Montrose Nast
Condé Montrose Nast was the founder of Condé Nast Publications, a leading American magazine publisher known for publications such as Vanity Fair, Vogue and The New Yorker.-Background:...
personally. She later took photographs for 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.”...
. Her fashion photos, even of evening gowns and such, were often notable for their outdoor settings, emphasizing active women.
World War II
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
. Later she worked for the Eighth Army Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
and became the official photographer of the Women's Army Corps
Women's Army Corps
The Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...
. On their behalf, she took thousands of images of nurses, front-line soldiers, WACs, African-American airmen, and orphaned children. She traveled to the European front
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
twice. Her moving photographs of military women and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
s in the elite 332d Fighter Group (the "Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
") were used to encourage public support for women and African Americans in the military.
After the war
In the 1950s, she took informal portraits of the famous and powerful in the United States and Europe, including Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, and John F.
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Jacqueline Kennedy, and worked for 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 Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazines. Continuing her interest in active women and sports, she was the first woman on the staff of Sports Illustrated in 1953, and continued to be one of very few female sport photographers
Sports photography
Sports photography refers to the genre of photography that covers all types of sports.In the majority of cases, professional sports photography is a branch of photojournalism, while amateur sports photography, such as photos of children playing association football, is a branch of vernacular...
for several decades.
In later work she concentrated on photographing women from all walks of life, often as a commentary on the human condition.
Books
Her photographs illustrated:- A Child's Garden of VersesA Child's Garden of VersesA Child's Garden of Verses is a collection of poetry for children by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. The collection first appeared in 1885 under the title Penny Whistles, but has been reprinted many times, often in illustrated versions...
(1944) - BermudaBermudaBermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
:The Happy Island (1946) - Mother GooseMother GooseThe familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...
(1948) - The King Ranch, 1939-1944 (1965)
- Tethered, by Amy MacKinnon (August 2008)
Personal
Daughter of Lewis Fox Frissell and Antoinette Wood Montgomery, Granddaughter of Algernon Sydney Frissell; founder and president of the Fifth Avenue Bank of New York, Great-Granddaughter of Mary Whitney Phelps and Governor of Missouri; John S. PhelpsJohn S. Phelps
John Smith Phelps was a politician, soldier during the American Civil War, and the 23rd Governor of Missouri.-Early life and career:...
. Descendant (GG Granddaughter) of Elisha Phelps: US Representative from Connecticut (1819-21, 1825-29). Descendant (GGG Granddaughter) of Maj. Gen. Noah Phelps
Noah Phelps
Maj. Gen. Noah Phelps , was the son of Lt. David Phelps and Abigail Pettibone Phelps, and was descended from the English immigrant William Phelps). The family settled in Simsbury, Connecticut before 1750, and General Phelps became an active and influential man...
: Revolutionary War hero. Sister of Phelps Montgomery Frissell and Filmmaker Lewis Varick Frissell
Varick Frissell
Varick Frissell was a documentary filmmaker.Frissell came from a well-to-do family, studied at Yale, and took a keen interest in film at an early age. He was mentored by renowned documentarian Robert Flaherty...
who was killed in Newfoundland during the filming of “The Viking” in 1931.
Toni Frissell died of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
on April 17, 1988, in a Long Island nursing home. Her husband, Francis M. Bacon 3rd, of Bacon, Stevenson & Company, predeceased her. She is survived by a daughter, Sidney Bacon Stafford; a son, Varick Bacon; grandchildren Montgomery Bacon Brookfield, Susan Brent Loyer, and Alexandra Bacon; and great-grandchildren Montgomery Bacon Brookfield, Jr., Samuel Huntington Brookfield, Holly Brent Brookfield, Gregory Vanderbilt Brookfield, Cadence Frissell Brookfield, Laura Loyer, Varick Loyer, and Margot Loyer.
External links
- Toni Frissell (1907-1988) at About.comAbout.comAbout.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
- Toni Frissell, 81, Dies; A Noted Photographer Obituary from the New York Times
Library of Congress
The Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
has a large collection of her photographs on pages about her, but apparently no single list of all of them.
- Toni Frissell Collection:Prints and Photographs Division Even more photos are not yet digitized
- Endless Summer (Imagination): American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- Toni Frissell - Women Come to the Front (Library of Congress Exhibition) World War II photographs
- Toni Frissell Collection (Prints and Photographs Reading Room, Library of Congress)