Irving Penn

mounted, titled, numbered, and annotation 'BK' in ink and pencil, the photographer's credit/copyright/reproduction rights stamps, and Famous Photographers School lesson stamp, with letters and numbers in ink, on the reverse, framed, a small print of the image with technical information in ink on the reverse and a fragment of the Famous Photographers Schools mount, with FPS stamps, affixed to the reverse, circa  1950, printed before 1964

'Vogue's Eye View of 90 Summer Days,' Vogue, June 1950, pp. 52-3

Irving Penn, Moments Preserved (New York, 1960), p. 108, there captioned 'Summer solitude with music and a book, cooled by a scented bath and a drink'

This early print, on paper with a slight surface sheen and mounted to white board, is in generally very good condition. There are blue and red ink guide marks and a stamped red star on the front of the mount. The edges are rubbed. When examined in raking light, the following are visible: small areas of retouching; a faint, soft linear impression in the lower left quadrant; and a barely perceptible raised area, where air or a particle was trapped between the photograph and the mount during the dry mounting process. The front of the mount is lightly soiled, and the edges are rubbed. There are blue and red ink guide marks and a stamped red star on the front of the mount. On the reverse of the mount are yellowed adhesive remains, likely from a prior mounting. The fragment of the former underlying mount that is affixed to the reverse of the frame has the following Famous Photographers School stamps: 'Famous Photographers Schools,' 'Original Art,' 'Please Return to Art Archives, Graphics Building,' and FPS lesson stamps, with numbers in ink. The accompanying 4-by-5-inch print of the image with technical information about the taking of this photograph indicates that it was used as part of a quiz for the Famous Photographers School for Lesson 17. The reverse is marked with 'Extra Stat' and 'Lesson 17, Pic Quiz, Pic I' in pencil and 'Penn' in blue ink. The technical categories are stamped in red and filled in with blue ink, as follows: Camera: Rolleiflex Lens: 75mm - 3.5 Film: Super XX Light Source: Tungsten bank & Tungsten backlighting E. P. (rest unintelligible): 1 second at f22 Client: Vogue Contact for permission release and credit: 'Courtesy Vogue, copyright 1960' And in red ink at the lower edge is 'Finish in lesson 17 drawer.'
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any stat.mes nt made by Replica Shoes 's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This image was originally made for the June 1950 issue of American Vogue, for an extensive feature article, ‘Vogue’s Eye View of 90 Summer Days.’ The caption for the photograph is 'Reading and Records--Reading and Listening in the Bath.'  Allene Talmey writes, 'Like a planned bicycle tour with plans made for abandoning the plan at a whim, this 90-day plan of books and records allows the greatest leeway. . . The books include novels, autobiographies, mystery stories, books on medicine, natural history, theology, art, and music, along with some books that are just plain funny.  The records range from Bach to T. S. Eliot; all spread the ambiance of the books they are linked to.' 

The woman in the photograph is Jean Patchett (1926 – 2002), one of the most photographed models of the late 1940s and 1950s.   A native of Preston, a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, she joined the Ford Model Agency in 1947.  She worked with many of the innovative fashion photographers of the day, including not only Penn, but also Cecil Beaton, Erwin Blumenfeld, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Horst, and John Rawlings.  She was featured on more than 40 magazine covers for Vogue, Glamour, and Harper’s Bazaar.  Her sessions with Irving Penn resulted in some of his most remembered fashion photographs, most notably the Black-and-White Vogue Cover.