“Night Bloom: Anneliese Seubert in Givenchy Haute Couture by John Galliano, Paris. The New York Times Magazine,” 1996. © Lillian Bassman, Courtesy Staley-Wise, New York.

Lillian Bassman was an American photographer and painter. The most notable qualities about Bassman’s photographic work are the high contrasts between light and dark, the graininess of the finished photos, and the geometric placement and camera angles of the subjects. Bassman was pioneering photographer in the world of fashion. She died in 2012 at the age of 94.

Staley-Wise Gallery is one of 75 galleries showcasing photography during the AIPAD Photography Show in New York City from April 4 – April 7.

All photos © John Cyr. Above: Andrea Modica’s developer tray. 10×12

John Cyr has spent the past year visiting darkrooms of notable black and white photographers in order to photograph their developer trays. Amassing over fifty trays thus far, Cyr believes that each tray contains a history as unique as the photographers that have used them. Not only do these trays reference the photographer’s body of work, but they also record fingernail scratches, tong marks and developer stains that have accumulated through as much as forty years of constant use. During this time of digital proliferation, Cyr finds importance in photographing developer trays so that the photographic community will remember the specific tools that were seminal in photography’s traditional darkrooms. To see more of Cyr’s work click here.

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© Lillian Bassman, Fantasy on the Dance Floor: Barbara Mullen, Paris 1949.  Gelatin silver print, 20 x 24 inches.

This image will be on display with the Peter Fetterman Gallery at this year’s AIPAD show from March 18-21. For more details on the AIPAD show, visit the website. To see more work from Lillian Bassman and the Peter Fetterman Gallery, click here.

“Margy Cato, Test Shoot, O,” taken in the 1950s by Lillian Bassman, is featured in the exhibition “Lillian Bassman: Women,” opening October 10 at the Peter Fetterman Gallery in Santa Monica. The 93-year-old Bassman was named Art Director at Junior Bazaar in 1945, and became Art Director of Harper’s Bazaar two years later. Her own fashion photography is renowned for its elegance, and she often experimented with darkroom manipulation. This fall Abrams will publish a new book of her fashion photos.