Edward Steichen and Tim Walker

At a time when photography was considered more mechanical than artistic, photographer and artist Edward Steichen strove to elevate fashion photography to the level of a fine art. Steichen began his career shooting images in a pictorialist manner in 1902, and eventually evolved his style to a heightened realism; however, Steichen’s photographs never lost their painterly aesthetic. The July 15, 1926 issue of Vogue featured Steichen’s eerie image entitled Parasol, which captured models Marion Morehouse and Helen Lyons both dressed in masks by Polish illustrator and painter W.T. Benda. Fantastical photographer Tim Walker paid homage to Steichen’s melancholic photograph in the February, 2009 issue of Vogue Italia with mannequin-like models posed in a similar fashion.


Edward Steichen, Vogue, July 15, 1926

Tim Walker, Vogue Italia February, 2009

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