Capturing the Raw Essence of Urban Life
Born Elise Amelie Felicie Stern in Vienna in 1901, Lisette Model was an Austrian-American photographer celebrated for capturing the raw essence of urban life through her pioneering street photography. Her work often centered on marginalized individuals, revealing both their humanity and struggles. Known for her candid images taken in France and New York, Model played a pivotal role in shaping mid-century American photography. Initially drawn to music, she studied with the expressionist composer Arnold Schoenberg while growing up in Vienna, before shifting her focus to photography. After immigrating to New York via Paris in 1938, Model became a key figure in the New York art scene, admired not only for her enigmatic photographs but also for her profound influence as a teacher. Her work was deeply shaped by the avant-garde aesthetics of European Expressionism, which resonated throughout her artistic practice.
From Music to Photography
Lisette Model’s journey into photography began in the summer of 1934, during a visit to her mother and sister in Nice. Borrowing a 35mm camera from her sister, Olga, she ventured to the Promenade des Anglais, a fashionable stretch along the Mediterranean coast, capturing its lively, upscale crowd. After moving to New York, Model made the pivotal decision to shift her career from music to photography, presenting these early images to the editor of the newly established newspaper *P.M.*. Her work quickly attracted the attention of renowned art director Alexey Brodovitch, and by the early 1940s, she was contributing to prominent magazines such as *Harper’s Bazaar*, *Look*, *Cue*, and *Ladies’ Home Journal*. One of her first assignments for *Harper’s Bazaar* was a project on Coney Island, where she captured one of her most iconic images, *Coney Island Bather*. In 1941, she joined the prestigious Photo League, and a decade later, she began teaching at The New School for Social Research, where she profoundly influenced photographers like Diane Arbus, Larry Fink, and Rosalind Solomon. Model continued teaching at The New School until her passing in 1983, leaving a lasting legacy as both an artist and educator.
Love at First Sight
Lisette Model fell in New York at first sight. “When we put our feet on the Riverside Drive,” she said; “we fell in love in a split second… the beauty of the highways, the poetry of the skyscrapers.” Her early photographs of the city are a tribute to its fast pace and energy. She captured anonymous figures in the Lower East Side, along with scenes from dive bars, hotel lobbies, and jazz clubs. Embracing the spontaneity of a small handheld camera, these images offered direct, honest portrayals of human character while reflecting Model’s fascination with how individuals came alive amid the city’s vibrant pulse. Many of her subjects had an unusual charm born from their strangeness, lending her candid photography an expressive, edgy quality filled with tension.
Explaining her approach, Model remarked,
“I am a passionate lover of the snapshot because of all photographic images, it comes closest to the truth…the snap shooter’s pictures have an apparent disorder and imperfection which is exactly their appeal and their style. The picture isn’t straight. It isn’t done well. It isn’t composed. It isn’t thought out. And out of this imbalance, and out of this not knowing, and out of this real innocence toward the medium comes an enormous vitality and expression of life.”
Avant-Garde Techniques
To heighten the immediacy and emotional depth of her work, Model often employed avant-garde techniques such as low angles, blurred movement, window reflections, and natural photomontages. These experimental elements reinforced the dynamic, unpolished energy that defined her photography.
The New York Jazz Scene
Some of Lisette Model’s most iconic photographs capture the vibrant energy of New York’s underground, electric jazz clubs. Shortly after her arrival in the city, she became immersed in the jazz scene, creating intimate and informal portraits of musicians, often in the middle of performances. This synergy between music and photography came naturally to Model, who was able to merge her lifelong passion for music with her appreciation for dynamic compositions. The offbeat rhythms and dim lighting of the clubs further heightened the dramatic atmosphere of her images.
Louis Armstrong Playing Trumpet
One of her most celebrated works is a striking portrait of Louis Armstrong, one of the most influential jazz musicians in history. Titled Louis Armstrong Playing Trumpet, the black-and-white photograph offers an up-close glimpse of the musician mid-performance, captured in the midst of the club’s lively ambiance. Model’s use of a tilted, low-angle perspective magnifies the exuberance of Armstrong’s playing, creating a powerful visual statement. Although she is physically close to her subject, Model avoids direct engagement, allowing the spontaneity of the moment to speak for itself.
The photograph embodies the imperfect, serendipitous quality that defines much of Model’s work, conveying both the joy and spirit of the jazz scene at the time. It also exemplifies the guiding principle she embraced throughout her career and often instilled in her students:
“Never photograph anything you are not passionately interested in; shoot from the gut.”
One of the Leading Street Photographers of the 20th Century
Throughout her life, Lisette Model used the camera as a tool to explore the world around her. Drawn to peculiarities and unconventional elements, she had a gift for identifying the most expressive and intriguing characters. Her fascination with the mysterious, odd, and eccentric figures of New York City, combined with her bold framings and stark black-and-white contrasts, cemented her status as one of the leading street photographers of the 20th century.
Model’s contributions were widely recognized, earning her numerous prestigious awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1965. Her work has been featured in major exhibitions at the Photo League, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Canada. Additionally, her photographs are held in the permanent collections of renowned institutions, such as the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.