In 1950, Vogue photographer Irving Penn was commissioned to photograph the Paris haute-couture collections. Penn had already established his reputation as a trailblazing fashion photographer, celebrated for his minimalist settings and his emphasis on volume, texture, and silhouette. He requested that Vogue set him up in a studio with ample natural light, on the seventh floor of a defunct photography school. Over the course of ten days Penn worked with three of the leading models of the day— Régine, Jean Patchett, and, as seen in the current lot, Lisa Fonssagrives, in a variety of poses that showcased the groundbreaking fashions of postwar Paris. The statuesque Fonssagrives, just shy of her fortieth birthday and in the prime of her career—she and Penn had married earlier in the year—is seen wearing a dress by Marcel Rochas, among the most celebrated couturiers at the time. The dramatic silhouette of the gown is accentuated by the voluminous ruffled skirt and the ethereal shawl that is elegantly draped around her torso. Mermaid Dress (Rochas), Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn is an homage to fashion, to Penn’s new consort, and to his distinct eye for the elegant and the awe-inducing.

In 1997, Irving Penn donated his archive to the Art Institute of Chicago. Divided in two parts- the paper archives and the photographic archives- the gift offers a window into the career of the legendary photographer and also helped establish the Art Institute as a leading repository for his work. Comprised of negatives, transparencies, contact sheets and test prints, including the Vogue tear sheet where Mermaid Dress (Rochas), Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn originally appeared, the photographic archive complements the extensive collection of Penn exhibition prints in the Art Institute’s collection which encompasses over 200 works. The print offered here, a duplicate to the platinum-palladium print held in that gift, was one of the first in the edition made by Penn in 1979 and was purchased soon afterward by Mr. Taub.