The Merry Widow, the garter belt, the girdle, stockings, and numerous other confining, uncomfortable, and erotic relics of our past are glorified in this exhibition of black and white photographs by Lillian Bassman. Originally seen in advertisements and Harper’s Bazaar Magazine, Bassman has transformed her work into mysterious, evocative images with her signature darkroom manipulation, highlighting her photographs with light and shadow to create unique works of art. Lillian Bassman’s career as a photographer began at Harper’s Bazaar in 1948 working for the great art director Alexey Brodovitch. In the early 1990’s Bassman manipulated these early images in the darkroom and transformed them through bleaching and blurring techniques into original works of art, investing them with poetry and glamour. The transformed photographs display extreme delicacy of gesture and quintessential feminity, creating an aura of romance and charm.
