Mary Jane Russell
| Mary Jane Russell | |
|---|---|
Mary Jane Russell photographed in 1951 by Louise Dahl-Wolfe
|
|
| Born |
Mary Jane Walton July 10, 1926 Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | November 20, 2003 (aged 77) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Occupation | model |
| Years active | 1948–1964 |
| Spouse(s) | Edward Russell |
Mary Jane Russell was a successful New York-based American photographic fashion model between 1948 and 1961. She often worked with Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Irving Penn, and appeared on many covers for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar during the course of her modelling career. Her husband was Edward Russell, who became president of the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach.
Mary Jane Walton was born on 10 July 1926 in Teaneck, New Jersey, attended Teaneck High School, and studied art at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. During her time at Sarah Lawrence, Edward Russell, a classmate of hers from Teaneck, sent her love letters featuring hand-drawn cartoons from the South Pacific where he was serving in the war as a radioman for the Navy. After Edward returned from the War, they were married on 21 December 1946 to take advantage of the longest night of the year. Their wartime romance was featured by Larry King in his 2001 book, Love Stories of World War II.
Mary Jane Russell began her modelling career in 1948, and was signed with Ford Models for the duration.Eileen Ford remembered her as being short by traditional female modeling standards (she was 5'6) and lacking confidence in her looks, but "exquisite". Her long neck and classical features were perfectly suited to the fashions of the period. She became a favourite model of the photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe, to the extent that when an unwritten rule was encountered where model and photographer could not work together a third time, Dahl-Wolfe unsuccessfully hunted for a suitable replacement. Eventually, Carmel Snow, the editor of Harper's Bazaar, intervened and personally asked Russell to work with Dahl-Wolfe a third time. Irving Solero, the photographer for the Fashion Institute of Technology, has estimated that 30% of Dahl-Wolfe's photographs featured Mary Jane.
...
Wikipedia