The Well-Dressed Leg
To the photographer, sheer stockings present a perfect conundrum: the finer their make, the less of them you can see. Bassman devised a shrewd solution in this hosiery editorial—her first picture to appear in Harper’s Bazaar. Instead of zooming in or peering upskirt, she inverted the model, precluding any chance of a predictable (or prurient) view. The composition points to legs that are brightly lit, if suspiciously bare. Whether nude or “well-dressed,” as the title describes, only Bassman and her subject could say.
In print, a caption posited this pose as a wellness trick, fit for “refreshing your brain and your skin. Five minutes will do it; ten is better.” Nicotine, one imagines, is an optional aid.
In print, a caption posited this pose as a wellness trick, fit for “refreshing your brain and your skin. Five minutes will do it; ten is better.” Nicotine, one imagines, is an optional aid.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Well-Dressed Leg
- Artist: Lillian Bassman (American, Brooklyn, New York 1917–2012 New York)
- Date: 1948
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 10 × 9 3/8 in. (25.4 × 23.8 cm)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gift of Lizzie and Eric Himmel, 2025
- Object Number: 2025.889.5
- Rights and Reproduction: © Estate of Lillian Bassman
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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Lillian Bassman (American, Brooklyn, New York 1917–2012 New York)
1950
Lillian Bassman (American, Brooklyn, New York 1917–2012 New York)
1949
Lillian Bassman (American, Brooklyn, New York 1917–2012 New York)
1952
Lillian Bassman (American, Brooklyn, New York 1917–2012 New York)
ca. 1950
Lillian Bassman (American, Brooklyn, New York 1917–2012 New York)
1951
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