Dagmar Freuchen-Gale (June 30, 1907 – March 9, 1991) was a Danish illustrator, writer and editor.

Early life and education

Freuchen-Gale was born Dagmar Cohn in

Kongens Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site ...

, Denmark, to Hans Cohn and Betty Johanne Neustadt. Her parents were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and were members of Det mosaiske trossamfunn (The Mosaic Religious Society). Freuchen-Gale left Lyngby in 1938 to go to New York.

Career

Freuchen-Gale was an artist and well known as a fashion illustrator, working for magazines such as ''

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'', ...

'' and ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...

''. In April 1947, Freuchen-Gale illustrated the cover of Vogue which presented new couture house

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses ...

. At the end of the 1940s Freuchen-Gale began to teach fashion illustration at the Art Students League, and continuing there for 20 years. She edited several of her second husband's, explorer and author

Peter Freuchen Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen (20 February 1886 – 2 September 1957) was a Danish explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist. He is notable for his role in Arctic exploration, namely the Thule Expeditions. Personal life Freuchen wa ...

, books. In 1968, she wrote ''Cookbook of the Seven Seas'', title inspired by Freuchen's book, ''Book of the Seven Seas''.

Personal life

Freuchen-Gale married three times. Her first husband, a Danish man named Muller, was killed during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

while serving with the

American army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. She met her second husband,

, on December 24, 1944, in New York at the home of some Danish friends. They married in 1945. Freuchen was a well known Danish author and

Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

. Beginning in 1945, they lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and maintained a second home in

Noank, Connecticut Noank ( ) is a village in the town of Groton, Connecticut. This dense community of historic homes and local businesses sits on a small, steep peninsula at the mouth of the Mystic River with a long tradition of fishing, lobstering and boat-buildin ...

on Chesbro Street, overlooking

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

. They appearedPhoto by Irving Penn
together in a well known photo by

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Iss ...

showing Freuchen with a beard in a massive fur coat. Freuchen often travelled for his work during their marriage but is reported to have written home every day and sent a copy of each letter to the Danish Royal Library, to be opened 50 years after his death, in 2007. Freuchen-Gale joined her husband only once in his travels, on an expedition to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

, during which she served native meals including pickled

whale blubber Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. Description Lipid-rich, collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except for pa ...

and seaweed. During their marriage, she became an expert on various cuisines from around the world. After her husband's death, Freuchen-Gale maintained the Noank home until 1963. Freuchen-Gale's third marriage was to Henry Gale (d. 1969), an attorney from New York, in 1967. She returned to live in Denmark in the early 1970s.

Works

*''Peter Freuchen's Adventures in the Arctic'', Julian Messner, Inc., New York, Copyright 1960. - (Editor) *''Peter Freuchen's Book of the Eskimos'', Peter Freuchen Estate. Cleveland Ohio, Copyright 1961. - (Editor) * ''Erindringer'', 1963 - (Editor) *''Cookbook of the Seven Seas'', 1968 - (Author)

References

External links

1955 Dior dress for Vogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freuchen-Gale, Dagmar 1907 births 1991 deaths People from Kongens Lyngby 20th-century Danish illustrators Danish women illustrators 20th-century Danish women writers Danish editors Danish women editors Fashion illustrators Jewish Danish artists Jewish Danish writers