Appearances

by Martin Harrison

A study of fashion photography since 1945 which places it in the mainstream of popular culture. It links fashion to such influential figures as Walker Evans and Robert Frank, and its implications transcend purely photographic history. Martin Harrison explores the role of magazine culture and the influences of art directors and editors, who have both created and reflected the mood and tones of the post-war decades. With the participation of the greatest figures in the field, from Richard Avedon and Irving Penn to Bruce Weber, he presents some of the most famous fashion photographs of all time, as well as many rare images. The involvement of artists such as Cindy Sherman and Robert Mapplethorpe is also examined, whose work is peripheral to the fashion industry, yet whose influence pervades the look and climate of the times. The conclusion is that fashion photography is no longer dinstinct from the lineage of art photography and has now become central to an understanding of modern culture and vidual media.

Genres: Photography, Fashion, Art

312 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 1991

About the author

Martin Harrison is a British art historian, curator, and author, internationally recognized for his expertise in photography, stained glass, and the work of painter Francis Bacon. Beginning his career in the 1960s as a photographer’s assistant at Vogue, Harrison later emerged as a leading authority on British photojournalism with his influential book Young Meteors: British Photojournalism, 1957–1965. He played a key role in reviving interest in forgotten photographers, including Lillian Bassman and Saul Leiter.
Harrison’s curatorial work spans major institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, with exhibitions held across Europe, the United States, and Mexico. A founding trustee of the English Stained Glass Museum at Ely Cathedral, he also contributed significantly to the study of Victorian stained glass and Pre-Raphaelite art.
His most celebrated contribution lies in his extensive scholarship on Francis Bacon. Since 1999, Harrison has authored several critical texts on the artist’s work and its sources, culminating in the five-volume Francis Bacon: Catalogue Raisonné (2016), a landmark in Bacon studies. He continues to lead academic discourse as editor of the Francis Bacon Studies series, focusing on the artist’s intellectual and visual influences, particularly cinema and photography.
Across a multifaceted career, Harrison has combined visual analysis with rigorous scholarship, leaving a lasting impact on the study of modern art and visual culture.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just beautiful. A book of superb fashion photography, no heavy reading, just astounding photograhpy from the greatest in history.