Stunning Fashion Photography in the 1940s by George Platt Lynes

Born 1907 in East Orange, New Jersey, American fashion and commercial photographer George Platt Lynes was soon receiving commissions from Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, and Vogue including a cover with perhaps the first supermodel, Lisa Fonssagrives. In 1935, he was asked to document the principal dancers and productions of Kirstein’s and George Balanchine’s newly founded American Ballet company (now the New York City Ballet).

Fashion photography in the 1940s by George Platt Lynes

By the mid-1940s Lynes began to lose interest in his commercial fashion photography and grew disillusioned with New York. In 1946, he left for Hollywood where he took the post of Chief Photographer for the Vogue studios. There he photographed major figures in the film industry, including Katherine Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, Gloria Swanson and Orson Welles, as well as leading figures of the arts and literature, among them Aldous Huxley, Igor Stravinsky and Thomas Mann. After just two years, he ran into financial trouble, and in 1948, his friends helped sponsor his move back to New York.

Lynes returned to a post-war New York where new photographers, such as Richard Avedon and Irving Penn, had taken his place in the fashion world. This fact, coupled with his increasing disinterest in commercial work, meant he was never able to regain the successes he once had.

Lynes spent most of his time focusing on homoerotic imagery, and he began working with Dr. Alfred Kinsey and his Institute in Bloomington, Indiana. His financial troubles persisted, and twice he was forced to declare bankruptcy.

In May 1955, Lynes was diagnosed terminally ill with lung cancer. He closed his studio and even destroyed much of his print and negative archives. After a final trip to Europe, Lynes returned to New York City where he died on December 6, 1955.

Fashion study by George Platt Lynes, circa 1940

Fashion study by George Platt Lynes, circa 1940

Lisa Fonssagrives in fashion photograph for Marshall Field and Company, photo by George Platt Lynes, 1940

Liz Gibbons photographed by George Platt Lynes, circa 1940

Madame Gres photographed by George Platt Lynes, 1940

Model in beautiful lace evening gown, photo by George Platt Lynes, circa 1940

Model in taffeta evening dress, photo by George Platt Lynes, circa 1940

Portrait of ballerina Sono Osato by George Platt Lynes, 1940

Lisa Fonssagrives in carnival taffeta dress, a Henri Bendel original. photo by George Platt Lynes, Harper's Bazaar U.S., December 1941

Mrs. Stanley Grafton Mortimer Jr (later Mrs. William "Babe" Paley), photo by George Platt Lynes, 1941

Tamara Toumanova, photo by George Platt Lynes, 1941

In this dream sequence, model is wearing a chartreuse wool robe lined in chartreuse satin from Saks Fifth Avenue, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, December 15, 1945

Lisa Fonssagrives in dramatic short dinner dress of Enka rayon-crêpe by Adele Simpson, hat by John Frederics, photo by George Platt Lynes, Harper's Bazaar, September 1945

Lisa Fonssagrives in elegant long Enka rayon and crêpe print dress outlined in black lace, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, January 1, 1945

Marilyn Ambrose in pailletted sapphire-blue silk chiffon with the tunic edged in black, a custom-order from Henri Bendel, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, May 1, 1945

Model in navy peppered with white suit, a Henri Bendel original, photo by George Platt Lynes, Harper's Bazaar, May 1945

Muriel Maxwell in sequined gray rayon jersey dress and model in white rayon jersey monk's robe with rhinestones on the belt and wrists, both from Charles Armour, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, December 15, 1945

Fashion study by George Platt Lynes, 1946

Marilyn Ambrose in black rayon-crêpe sheath with black silk net overskirt, a Bendel Original, photo by George Platt Lynes, Harper's Bazaar, May 1946

Model in an immaculate white piqué dress by Mildred Orrick, white shade-hat by John Frederics, photo by George Platt Lynes at the Bel Air Hotel, Vogue, November 15, 1946

Model in lovely gown of silk organdy over rayon crêpe, a Bendel Original, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, June 1, 1946

Model in lovely navy rayon-crêpe dress with layers of organdie for the sleeves at Henri Bendel, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, March 15, 1946

Tamara Toumanova, première danseuse of the Paris Opera in black satin dinner dress from I.Magnin, photo by George Platt Lynes on the M.G.M. set, Vogue, October 1, 1946

C.Z Guest in new ankle-length dress of balck rayon-taffeta, quilted all over with a large cuffed shoulder by Ceil Chapman, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, August 15, 1947

Model in simple corduroy suit, Norfolk-belted and patched-pocketed at the hips, comes in autumn-leaf colors by Koret of California, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, July 1, 1947

Model in suit of gray, yellow and mauve Forstmann tweed, coat of Stroock wool-cashmere, by Adele Sportswear, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, July 1, 1947

Norma Shearer in sweeping satin dress with a flight of black satin wings by Adrian, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, October 1, 1947

Dovima (l) and Barbara Mullen (r) photographed by George Platt Lynes, circa 1948

Florence Marly in beautiful gown of black lace over white organdie by Adrian, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, April 15, 1948

Model in a black Karakul coat with velvet closure, photo by George Platt Lynes, circa 1948

Betty Bridgers in lovely embroidered white organdy dress with bouquet at the waist from Henri Bendel, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, April 15, 1949

Evelyn Tripp in black, bare, big-skirted gown of rayon taffeta with a bow in full bloom on one shoulder by Jack Herzog, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, October 1, 1949

Jean Patchett in floral chiffon evening dress, photo by George Platt Lynes, circa 1949

Jean Patchett in long striped taffeta evening dress, photo by George Platt Lynes, circa 1949

Katherine Cassidy in charming white eyelet cotton batiste dress belted in black patent leather by Larry Aldrich, patent leather sailor by Lilly Daché, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, May 1, 1949

Kitty Kopet in wool two-piece custom-order by Bendel Originals, photo by George Platt Lynes, Harper's Bazaar, September 1949

Lisa Fonssagrives in orange and black Milliken worsted suit by Max Levine, striped Echo ascot-tie, beige felt cloche, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, September 15, 1949

Marilyn Ambrose in evening gown of silk surah, a Bendel Original, at Henri Bendel, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, September 15, 1949

Model in lovely dinner dress of shortened slip overflowing with Chantilly lace by Sophie of Saks Fifth Avenue, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, November 1, 1949

Model in short sheath with crisp bow at the waist and side-slit at the hem in dotted yellow-gold, photo by George Platt Lynes, Vogue, October 15, 1949