Mark Shaw (photographer)
Encyclopedia
Mark Shaw was a noted American fashion and celebrity photographer in the 1950s and 1960s. He worked for Life
magazine from 1952 to 1968; during that period, 27 issues of Life carried cover photos by Mark Shaw. He is best known for his photographs of John F. Kennedy
, his wife Jacqueline Kennedy
, and their children. In 1964, many of these images were published in the book The John F. Kennedys: A Family Album, which became a bestseller.
Shaw's work also appeared in Harper's Bazaar
, Mademoiselle
, Esquire
, and many other publications.
, and grew up on the Lower East Side
. His mother Rebecca (or Reva) Silverstein (also Kanzer) (1895–1960) was a seamstress of Russian and Polish extraction; his father Joseph Charles Schlossman was a laborer and/or salesman of Austrian descent. They divorced while Mark was still a boy. Later he attended New York University
, where he studied industrial design
, and the Pratt Institute
, where he studied engineering and most likely was exposed to photography as well.
In December 1941, Shaw completed ROTC training with a lieutenant's
commission. A month after Pearl Harbor
, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force as Mark Schlossman, recording his occupation at enlistment as "photographer". He was a pilot throughout World War II
, and was highly decorated, flying fighters
with the British forces in the North African Campaign
and later flying transports
over The Hump
from India to China. Due to his expertise with multi-engine planes he was then assigned to Russian General Georgy Zhukov
as his personal pilot. Shaw also flew one of the escort planes accompanying General Douglas MacArthur
on his way to Tokyo
to accept the Japanese surrender.
At some point during or soon after the war, Mark (and his mother) changed their surname (Schlossman) to "Shaw", probably in order to sound more "American", which was a common motivation for name changes at the time.
, where he came under the influence and mentorship of art director Alexey Brodovitch
. From 1946 to 1948 Shaw did fashion photography for Harper's Bazaar, and began acquiring advertising clients as well.
In 1949 Shaw married Geraldine ("Geri") Trotta, who was a professional fashion and travel writer for several publications including Mademoiselle
. The couple bought a brownstone
on the East side of midtown Manhattan. Shaw established his photography studio in a carriage house
behind their home. Starting in 1951, Shaw contributed fashion images to Mademoiselle.
In 1952 Shaw became a freelance photographer for Life
magazine, and preferred freelancing throughout his career so that he could retain the rights to all of his work—a goal which he was able to achieve even with his most famous images. Trotta's connections further expanded Mark's access to celebrities and public figures, and his career flourished. Freelancing on over 100 assignments for Life, Shaw photographed many actresses, actors, politicians, and other celebrities, while also frequently working photo shoots in the fashion industry. He was the first photographer to portray the Paris fashion collections backstage in color.
In 1953, probably because of his fashion experience, Shaw was assigned to photograph the young actress Audrey Hepburn
during the filming of Paramount's Sabrina
. Evasive at first, Hepburn became comfortable with Shaw's presence over a two-week period, and allowed him to record many of her casual and private moments. This produced some of his best-known images, though most of the negatives were subsequently lost for many years. Life published several of these photos in the Dec. 7, 1953 issue, which also carried a Shaw cover of Hepburn.
Also during the 1950s, Shaw and fellow fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon
contributed concurrently to a well-known, long-running ad campaign for Vanity Fair lingerie. Shaw won numerous Art Directors Club awards for his creative images in this campaign.
By the late 1950s Shaw's career was reaching its zenith. Among the famous figures he photographed were Pablo Picasso
, Brigitte Bardot
, Elizabeth Taylor
, Grace Kelly
, Danny Kaye
, Cary Grant
, Yves St. Laurent, Nico
, and many others. For example, in 1957 Shaw portrayed fashion designer Coco Chanel
, actress Jeanne Moreau
, and model Suzy Parker
during a single shoot in Chanel's Paris apartment and fashion house. Life published several of these photos with a story on Chanel that appeared in the issue of August 19, 1957 (which was also Chanel's birthday).
In 1959, Life chose Shaw to photograph Jacqueline Kennedy
while her husband, Senator John F. Kennedy
, was running for President. This assignment was the beginning of an enduring working relationship and personal friendship with the Kennedys that would eventually lead to Shaw's acceptance as the Kennedys' de facto "family photographer". He visited them at the White House
and at Hyannisport; during this time he produced his most famous photographs, portraying the couple and their children in both official and casual settings. In 1964, Shaw published a collection of these images in his book The John F. Kennedys: A Family Album, which was very successful.
In 1960 Shaw and his first wife Geri Trotta divorced. He and singer Pat Suzuki
then married and had a son, David; two years later, that marriage also ended in divorce.
Late in his career Shaw also worked successfully in film, directing numerous television commercials for major companies.
Prior to founding the Archive, David Shaw had a career as a film and music video cinematographer
, and Juliet Cuming directed music videos (including White Zombie's
Thunder Kiss '65
). They have two children. The couple also operate a nonprofit, Earth Sweet Home, which promotes sustainable building and design techniques. The Archive itself is housed in an off-the-grid
straw-bale
structure which they built themselves following sustainable principles. The building is powered by wind
and solar
energy.
In December 2005, a few months after the death of Geri Trotta, the long-lost negatives
from 60 rolls of film Mark Shaw had shot on his 1953 Audrey Hepburn assignment were found in Trotta's residence. Selections from these rediscovered images were published in 2009 in the book Charmed by Audrey: Life on the Set of Sabrina.
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine from 1952 to 1968; during that period, 27 issues of Life carried cover photos by Mark Shaw. He is best known for his photographs of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, his wife Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
, and their children. In 1964, many of these images were published in the book The John F. Kennedys: A Family Album, which became a bestseller.
Shaw's work also appeared in Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, and many other publications.
Early life
Shaw was born Mark Schlossman to working-class parents of Eastern European heritage in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and grew up on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. His mother Rebecca (or Reva) Silverstein (also Kanzer) (1895–1960) was a seamstress of Russian and Polish extraction; his father Joseph Charles Schlossman was a laborer and/or salesman of Austrian descent. They divorced while Mark was still a boy. Later he attended New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, where he studied industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
, and the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, where he studied engineering and most likely was exposed to photography as well.
In December 1941, Shaw completed ROTC training with a lieutenant's
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
commission. A month after Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force as Mark Schlossman, recording his occupation at enlistment as "photographer". He was a pilot throughout World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and was highly decorated, flying fighters
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
with the British forces in the North African Campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
and later flying transports
Cargo aircraft
A cargo aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft designed or converted for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. They are usually devoid of passenger amenities, and generally feature one or more large doors for the loading and unloading of cargo...
over The Hump
The Hump
The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and the units of the United States Army Air Forces based in...
from India to China. Due to his expertise with multi-engine planes he was then assigned to Russian General Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Zhukov
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
as his personal pilot. Shaw also flew one of the escort planes accompanying General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
on his way to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
to accept the Japanese surrender.
At some point during or soon after the war, Mark (and his mother) changed their surname (Schlossman) to "Shaw", probably in order to sound more "American", which was a common motivation for name changes at the time.
Photography career
After the war, Shaw began his professional photography career in New York City, managing the photographic studio at Harper's BazaarHarper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, where he came under the influence and mentorship of art director Alexey Brodovitch
Alexey Brodovitch
Alexey Brodovitch was a Russian-born photographer, designer and instructor who is most famous for his art direction of fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar from 1938 to 1958.- Early life in Russia :...
. From 1946 to 1948 Shaw did fashion photography for Harper's Bazaar, and began acquiring advertising clients as well.
In 1949 Shaw married Geraldine ("Geri") Trotta, who was a professional fashion and travel writer for several publications including Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
. The couple bought a brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
on the East side of midtown Manhattan. Shaw established his photography studio in a carriage house
Carriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
behind their home. Starting in 1951, Shaw contributed fashion images to Mademoiselle.
In 1952 Shaw became a freelance photographer for Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine, and preferred freelancing throughout his career so that he could retain the rights to all of his work—a goal which he was able to achieve even with his most famous images. Trotta's connections further expanded Mark's access to celebrities and public figures, and his career flourished. Freelancing on over 100 assignments for Life, Shaw photographed many actresses, actors, politicians, and other celebrities, while also frequently working photo shoots in the fashion industry. He was the first photographer to portray the Paris fashion collections backstage in color.
In 1953, probably because of his fashion experience, Shaw was assigned to photograph the young actress Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
during the filming of Paramount's Sabrina
Sabrina (1954 film)
Sabrina is a 1954 comedy-romance film directed by Billy Wilder, adapted for the screen by Wilder, Samuel A. Taylor, and Ernest Lehman from Taylor's play Sabrina Fair...
. Evasive at first, Hepburn became comfortable with Shaw's presence over a two-week period, and allowed him to record many of her casual and private moments. This produced some of his best-known images, though most of the negatives were subsequently lost for many years. Life published several of these photos in the Dec. 7, 1953 issue, which also carried a Shaw cover of Hepburn.
Also during the 1950s, Shaw and fellow fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon was an American photographer. An obituary published in The New York Times said that "his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century."-Photography career:Avedon was born in New York City to a Jewish Russian...
contributed concurrently to a well-known, long-running ad campaign for Vanity Fair lingerie. Shaw won numerous Art Directors Club awards for his creative images in this campaign.
By the late 1950s Shaw's career was reaching its zenith. Among the famous figures he photographed were Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
, Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, Yves St. Laurent, Nico
Nico
Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
, and many others. For example, in 1957 Shaw portrayed fashion designer Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
, actress Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau is a French actress, singer, screenwriter and director.She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française...
, and model Suzy Parker
Suzy Parker
Suzy Parker was an American model and actress active from 1947 into the early 1960s. Her modeling career reached its zenith during the 1950s when she appeared on the cover of dozens of magazines, advertisements, and in movie and television roles.She appeared in several Revlon advertisements, but...
during a single shoot in Chanel's Paris apartment and fashion house. Life published several of these photos with a story on Chanel that appeared in the issue of August 19, 1957 (which was also Chanel's birthday).
In 1959, Life chose Shaw to photograph Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
while her husband, Senator John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, was running for President. This assignment was the beginning of an enduring working relationship and personal friendship with the Kennedys that would eventually lead to Shaw's acceptance as the Kennedys' de facto "family photographer". He visited them at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and at Hyannisport; during this time he produced his most famous photographs, portraying the couple and their children in both official and casual settings. In 1964, Shaw published a collection of these images in his book The John F. Kennedys: A Family Album, which was very successful.
In 1960 Shaw and his first wife Geri Trotta divorced. He and singer Pat Suzuki
Pat Suzuki
Pat Suzuki is an American popular singer and actress, who is best known for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical Flower Drum Song, and her performance of the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in the show.-Career:Suzuki is a Nisei or second-generation Japanese American...
then married and had a son, David; two years later, that marriage also ended in divorce.
Late in his career Shaw also worked successfully in film, directing numerous television commercials for major companies.
Legacy
Following Shaw's death in 1969, his estate, including his large body of photographic work, passed to his ex-wives. In 1994 Shaw's son David Shaw and his wife Juliet Cuming took over management of Mark Shaw's photographic legacy, and later purchased Geri Trotta's share of the collection. In 1999 they established the Mark Shaw Photographic Archive, in East Dummerston, Vermont, which is now the sole legal proprietor of Mark Shaw images.Prior to founding the Archive, David Shaw had a career as a film and music video cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
, and Juliet Cuming directed music videos (including White Zombie's
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
Thunder Kiss '65
Thunder Kiss '65
"Thunder Kiss '65" is the first and only official single off the album La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 by White Zombie. The song can also be found on Rob Zombie's Past, Present & Future and the greatest hits album The Best of Rob Zombie.-Music:...
). They have two children. The couple also operate a nonprofit, Earth Sweet Home, which promotes sustainable building and design techniques. The Archive itself is housed in an off-the-grid
Off-the-grid
The term off-the-grid or off-grid refers to living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities....
straw-bale
Straw-bale construction
Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw as structural elements, building insulation, or both...
structure which they built themselves following sustainable principles. The building is powered by wind
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
and solar
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
energy.
In December 2005, a few months after the death of Geri Trotta, the long-lost negatives
Negative (photography)
In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
from 60 rolls of film Mark Shaw had shot on his 1953 Audrey Hepburn assignment were found in Trotta's residence. Selections from these rediscovered images were published in 2009 in the book Charmed by Audrey: Life on the Set of Sabrina.
Notable photographs
- Jackie and Caroline on the Beach, Hyannis Port, 1959. Image, notes at Monroe Gallery
- JFK Walking in the Dunes, Hyannis Port, 1959. Image, notes at Monroe Gallery
- Audrey Walking Away, Beverly Hills, 1953. Image, notes at Monroe Gallery
- Audrey Under the Hair Dryer, Paramount Back Lot, 1953. Image, notes at Monroe Gallery
- Coco Lies on Divan, Paris, 1957. Image, notes at Andrew Wilder Gallery
- Vanity Fair Butterfly Robe Arm Out, New York, circa 1955. Image, notes at Andrew Wilder Gallery
- Vanity Fair Sheer Gown, New York, circa 1955. Image, notes at Andrew Wilder Gallery
- White Gown with Pearls, Paris, 1954. Image, notes at Andrew Wilder Gallery
- Henrietta Tiarks, the Dutchess of Bedford, Palais Royale, Paris, 1959. Image, notes at Andrew Wilder Gallery
Photographic Books
- The John F. Kennedys: A Family Album, Farrar, Straus, 1964.
- Messenger of Peace: The Visit of Pope Paul VI to the United States in the Cause of Peace, Trinity House, 1965. (Editor, photojournal.)
- The Catch and the Feast, Weybright and Talley, 1969. (Photographer; text by Joie McGrail and Bill McGrail. A wild game cookbook.)
- The John F. Kennedys: A Family Album, Rizzoli, 2003. ISBN 978-0-7893-1026-2. (Expanded edition, including new images.)
- Charmed by Audrey: Life on the Set of Sabrina, Palace Press, 2009. ISBN 978-1-933784-87-8. (Text by Juliet Cuming and David Taylor.)
Awards
- Art Directors Club awards in 1950, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, and 65 including two Gold Medals.
- 1957 Art Directors Club - Award of Distinctive Merit, Editorial Art (Magazine Covers) (for Life cover of Rosalind RussellRosalind RussellRosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
, Nov. 12, 1956) - 1957 Art Directors Club - Award of Distinctive Merit, Editorial Art (Non-Fiction - Two Colors)
- American Television Commercial Festival awards in 1963, 64, 65, 67, and 68.