Louis Faurer

Martin Harrison, Appearances: Fashion Photography Since 1945 (New York, 1991), Cover and p. 23

Anne Wilkes Tucker, Louis Faurer (London and Houston, 2002), p. 161

Paul Martineau, Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2018), p. 237

Bowing for the Collections, Paris, was made in 1972 on assignment for French VOGUE. Although strobe lighting was more commonly employed by this time, Faurer favored quartz lights or floodlights for his studio work. They achieved a softer effect than strobe lighting and could better illustrate movement, including the billowing draping of a gown by the great French couturier Madame Grès.  

"When I represented Faurer in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Martin Harrison was preparing his important book, APPEARANCES: FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY SINCE 1945 (published 1991). After a visit with Faurer, Martin and I took a taxi ride together and were discussing which image – among those by many photographers – would be perfect for the cover of APPEARANCES. We agreed that Bowing for the Collections, Paris, was the one! The ultimate choice by Martin made me happy because the picture was not well-known then, although Faurer and I thought it was superb. 

In 1988 Faurer donated the one known vintage print of this image to the Bibliothèque National in Paris. It had been airbrushed for reproduction in French VOGUE, and the airbrushing had turned yellow. Three years later, Faurer and I decided to make editions of this image with Schneider/Erdman, whose lab was then at Cooper Square, in two paper sizes: 14 x 11" and 20 x 16", and this is one of those prints." - Deborah Bell

Deborah Bell Photographs has been a dealer of fine-art photographs since 1988. The gallery offers a broad range of works spanning the history of photography, concentrating on the 20th century, with special emphasis on European photography between the world wars; American photography from the 1940s-1970s; selected fashion photography; and photo-documents of conceptual art and performance. Along with presenting innovative exhibitions and representing living photographers and estates, their goal is to work closely with individuals and institutions in building collections of depth and quality.