Toni Frissell (Born in 1907) was born in New York City. He studied at Miss Porter's School, Farmington, Connecticut from where she graduated in 1925. She then worked as a caption writer for American Vogue, where she was encouraged to experiment with photography by editor Carmel Snow. In 1931, her brother got lost at sea while he was working on a documentary film. As a relief from her grief, Toni took up photography seriously. That coincided with the Depression years and her fashion pictures began to appeal to many people and they began appearing in magazines such as Town and Country and Vogue. In 1931 her first photographs were published in Town and Country (the series called "Beauties at Newport"). From then on she began working for Vogue for the next 11 years, from 1931 to 1942. Toni took on general assignments and covered the fashion pages for the magazine.
Mr. Conde Nast was her mentor at Vogue and Edward Steichen was her advisor who suggested that she apprentices with Cecil Beaton. Rather that using studio lights, Toni took her models outside to natural light and settings even though the models were dressed in evening gowns or furs. She earned a reputation for her documentary, fashion, and sports images that found their way into top magazines. Her work appeared regularly in Life & Look in the 1960s and 1970s. Her famous images include portraits of Winston Churchill, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and the wedding of Jacqueline Bouvier John and F. Kennedy. Toni favored small cameras to achieve more spontaneous and natural results.
