THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The Library of Congress THE LOC.GOV WISE GUIDE
AD HIGHLIGHTS
ARCHIVES
ABOUT THIS SITE
HELP
November2007
HOME Experiencing the War At the (Camera) Ready November Notables Gather 'Round the Family Album A Native Prescription Hooting at Hunger! The Ga of Ghana Celebrate Homowo They Helped to Fill Up the 'Canvas'
At the (Camera) Ready

Toni Frissell was an American photographer known for her fashion photography in such magazines as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. She often placed her subjects in outdoor settings to emphasize the idea of active and able women. After becoming frustrated with fashion photography and wanting to prove herself as a real photojournalist, Frissell volunteered her services to the American Red Cross in 1941. Later she worked for the Eighth Army Air Force and became the official photographer of the Women's Army Corps. On their behalf, she took thousands of images of nurses, front-line soldiers, African-American airmen and orphaned children. She traveled to the European front twice, and her moving photographs of military women and the Tuskegee Airmen were used to encourage public support for women and blacks in the service.

Toni Frissell. 1945. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, half-length portrait, facing front, holding camera. 1961.

In the 1950s, Frissell focused her talents on portraiture, taking photographs of the famous and powerful in the United States and Europe. Sitting in front of her lens were such figures as Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt and John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy. She was even the first woman on staff of "Sports Illustrated," which allowed her to continue with her interest in active women and sports.

The Library is home to the Tony Frissell collection, which includes her papers and countless photographic images, some of which have been digitized and are accessible online. Frissell is also a featured photographer in the "Women Come to the Front: Journalists, Photographers and Broadcasters During World War II" exhibition. This online presentation features eight women who exemplify the strength and character of the women's wartime movement.

The Library's Prints and Photographs Division has put together a new reference aid on women journalists. Spanning from the 1800s to the 1990s, this resource offers an outline of the prominent and pioneering women working in the photojournalism field.

One of Frissell's very own subjects was a photographer in her own right. Jackie Kennedy was not only the most photographed woman of her time but also a photographer herself. She began her career with the Washington Times-Herald, where she happened to have the opportunity to photograph of a certain Massachusetts senator, John F. Kennedy.


A. Toni Frissell. 1945. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Information: Reproduction information unavailable.

B. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, half-length portrait, facing front, holding camera. 1961. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Information: Reproduction No.: LC-USZ62-132830 (b&w film copy neg.); Call No.: NYWTS - BIOG--Kennedy, John F. Mrs.--Newspaperwoman [item] [P&P]