Arbus Fashion Photograph - 1949


This photograph captured my attention this morning.  It is from a full page ad for Enka Rayon from 1949.  The striped rayon dress is by Harvey Berin.  But it's the composition of the photo that I like.  The model is posed far off to the side and the dress that is being featured is almost an afterthought.  The model looks askance at a piece of sculpture in the American Museum of Natural History.

The photograph was taken by Arbus; not Diane but her husband, Allan.  Diane would have been the art director for the shot, though, and her genius is apparent even though she hated doing fashion work.  Pose a model in a purple striped dress against a busy painted wall?  Yes, please!

Photo by Allan Arbus is from a full page ad for Enka Rayon from Mademoiselle Magazine, 1949.