Karl Bissinger (November 5, 1914 – November 19, 2008) was an American

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

best known for his portraits of notable figures in the world of art following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

with regular travel and fashion features in popular magazines of the mid-twentieth century. Bissinger’s career as a photographer took second place to his later work as an activist for the War Resisters League and other pacifist organizations.

Biography

Early years

Karl Bissinger was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, in 1914. He studied art at the

Cincinnati Art Museum The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ov ...

as a high school student and moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, where he studied painting at the Art Students League of New York in the late 1930s.Grimes, William
"Karl Bissinger, Portraitist, Dies at 94"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', November 25, 2008. Accessed November 26, 2008.

Career

Bissinger's first connection to photography was when he was a stylist for the studios of Condé Nast Publications, where he developed relationships with some of the

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

and fashion photographers on staff, including

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the t ...

George Hoyningen-Huene Baron George Hoyningen-Huene (September 4, 1900 – September 12, 1968) was a fashion photographer of the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in the Russian Empire to Baltic German and American parents and spent his working life in France, England and t ...

, Irving Penn and John Rawlings. He was part of group that shared a residence on

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...

with

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

, who lent him a camera and encouraged him to take pictures. His first photographic subjects were Avedon's wife and author James Baldwin. Avendon was impressed with Bissinger's work and sent him to

Lillian Bassman Lillian Bassman (June 15, 1917 – February 13, 2012) was an American photographer and painter. Early life and background Her parents were Jewish intellectuals who emigrated to the United States from Ukraine (then in Russia) in 1905 and settled i ...

, art director for ''Junior Bazaar''.Guide to the Karl Bissinger papers
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware. Retrieved 11 May 2020. His first assignment as a photographer was for ''Junior Bazaar'' and he started taking portraits and doing fashion shoots for '' Harper's Bazaar'', ''Theater Arts'', '' Town & Country'' and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. He was staff photographer for the 12-issue lifespan of the magazine '' Flair'', edited by

Fleur Cowles Fleur Fenton Cowles (January 20, 1908 – June 5, 2009
by

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and

Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

, Katharine Hepburn and John Wayne. Bissinger developed an interest in the arts scene, photographing

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

on the set of a film in Paris and Marlon Brando in front of a window in his New York City apartment. A 1949 photograph taken at a table in the garden of Manhattan's Café Nicholson of the up-and-coming in the arts world included artist Buffie Johnson, ballerina

Tanaquil LeClercq Tanaquil Le Clercq ( ; October 2, 1929 – December 31, 2000) was an American ballet dancer, born in Paris, France, who became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet at the age of nineteen. Her dancing career ended abruptly when she ...

, author

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and e ...

, playwright

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

and novelist

Donald Windham Donald Windham (July 2, 1920 – May 31, 2010) was an American novelist and memoirist. He is perhaps best known for his close friendships with Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Windham moved with his then-boyfriend F ...

, in what ''

'' described as "a class picture of the young and the talented in the American arts, more than ready for their close-ups". Café Nicholson, which he created with Johnny Nicholson, who had worked with him as a window-dresser at

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

earlier in his career, was the frequent setting of his photographs. During this time, Bissinger met fashion illustrator and designer Richard Hanley, who became his life partner.

Later years

Bissinger left photography as a profession in the 1950s and developed a focus on political issues, becoming involved in a number of peace organizations. He met

Julian Beck Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 – September 14, 1985) was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing The Living Theatre, as well as his role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher ...

and

Judith Malina Judith Malina (June 4, 1926 – April 10, 2015) was a German-born American actress, director and writer. With her husband, Julian Beck, Malina co-founded The Living Theatre, a radical political theatre troupe that rose to prominence in New York C ...

, founders of

The Living Theatre The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter/p ...

, at a demonstration in the early 1960s and would take photos of the company's performances. He became a draft counselor during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, working full-time at the Greenwich Village Peace Center, providing guidance on avoiding being drafted for military service.Braun, Saul
"From 1-A to 4-F And All Points In Between"
''

'', November 29, 1970. Accessed November 26, 2008. He became an active member of the

War Resisters League The War Resisters League (WRL) is the oldest secular pacifist organization in the United States. History Founded in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I, it is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International. It continues ...

, advocating for

nuclear disarmament Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space * Nuclea ...

. In the early 2000s, there was a renewed interest in Bissinger's early photographic work from the 1940s and 1950s; his photographs of Morocco were featured in Elias Canetti's ''The Voices of Marrakesh'' (2001), and ''The Luminous Years,'' a collection of Bissinger's portraits, was published in 2003.

Death and legacy

Bissinger died at the age of 94 on November 19, 2008, in his

home at

Westbeth Artists Community Westbeth Artists Housing is a nonprofit housing and commercial complex dedicated to providing affordable living and working space for artists and arts organizations in New York City. The complex comprises the full city block bounded by West, Be ...

. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Bibliography

*''The Luminous Years: Portraits at Mid-Century'' (Harry N.Abrams, 2003, )

Footnotes

External links

Karl Bissinger papers
a
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library"Karl Bissinger"
YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissinger, Karl 1914 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American photographers Artists from Cincinnati American pacifists American conscientious objectors Activists from Ohio