Fernand Fonssagrives

Born in France, Fonssagrives first trained as a dancer, but after an injury he established himself as a photographer, selling photos (often of his wife, Lisa) to many European publications in the 1930s.

He moved to New York and became one of the world's premiere fashion photographers of the 1940s and 1950s, taking pictures for Vogue, Town and Country and Harper's Bazaar magazines.

"[1] His photographic works are represented in Europe by Michael Hoppen Photography (London) and in the United States by Bonni Benrubi (New York) and Duncan Miller Gallery (Santa Monica).

[2][3] His older brother, Jean Vigoureux, also became an artist, known for drawings and paintings of daily life in French Indochina and in Paris, as seen in the book Paris: Twenty-Eight Drawings by Jean Vigoureux (Plantin Press, Los Angeles, 1942).

[5] It was this that introduced him to photography, Fernand becoming a noted photographer and Lisa Fonssagrives a highly celebrated fashion model.