Diana Vreeland

Object Details

Exhibition Label

Born Paris, France

In 1936 Diana Vreeland became fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar and began to make that magazine a sounding-board for contemporary American identity. "Pizzazz" was a favorite word, and everything she did reflected that sense of verve. Every month she wrote a column called "Why Don’t You . . ." in which she suggested such outlandish ideas as, "Why don’t you . . . wash your blond child’s hair in dead champagne, as they do in France? . . . have a furry elk-hide trunk for the back of your car?" She saw her duty as instructive: "Most people haven’t got a point of view; they need to have it given to them." In 1941 Vreeland herself modeled for photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe during an Arizona photo shoot, posing in front of an abandoned movie set in an old Western town.

Data Source

National Portrait Gallery

Artist

Louise Dahl-Wolfe, 19 Nov 1895 - 11 Dec 1989

Sitter

Diana Dalziel Vreeland, 1903 - 22 Aug 1989

Date

1941

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the generosity of Elizabeth Ann Hylton

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image/Sheet: 22.5 x 19.5 cm (8 7/8 x 7 11/16")

Type

Photograph