Gösta "Gus" Peterson (né Gösta Reinhold Pettersson, April 25, 1923 – July 28, 2017) was a Swedish-American photographer whose fashion photographs were widely published in the editorial pages of magazines including Elle, Esquire, Essence Harper's Bazaar, Mademoiselle, Marie Claire, and The New York Times, from the late 1950s to the late 1980s.
In the 1960s, Bea Feitler, the former Art Director for Harper’s Bazaar, Ms., and Rolling Stone said, "The most interesting fashion pages now – the ones that say the most about our times – are Gösta Peterson’s for Mademoiselle.
A relative invited him to come to the U.S., and in March 1948, he moved to New York "with poor English," by his own account, "but enough to find every jazz club in town.
[1] Gösta Peterson’s work has been described as groundbreaking and pioneering, and has been rated in the same category as Irving Penn and Richard Avedon.
His work is noted for its staging and composition; he often used humorous or dramatic scenarios to convey the image and pioneered "a more informal, personal approach to fashion photography".
Roger Schoening, Art Director for Mademoiselle from 1961 to 1978, and for Vogue from 1979 to 1988, remarked, "I never send Gus out on a job that I don’t wonder what he’s going to come back with.
"[1] With few exceptions, Peterson insisted on shooting real people with quirks and personality in place of trained fashion models, rejecting an assignment from Alexander Liberman at Vogue who would not grant him that freedom.
[6] In summer 1967, a fledgling African-American model named Naomi Sims telephoned Peterson and made an appointment to visit his studio.
[6] Peterson launched the careers of other Black models, such as Barbara Summers, and his work was featured in the first issue of Essence.
From the 1950s to 1980s, Peterson’s work was featured in and on the cover of magazines, including Elle, Esquire, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, L'Officiel, Mademoiselle, Marie Claire, The New York Times, and Town & Country, among others.
He shot the most influential designers of the late 20th century, including Pierre Cardin, Comme des Garçons, Fendi, Rudi Gernreich, Halston, Ralph Lauren, Pucci, Sonia Rykiel, and Yves Saint Laurent.
[4] • April 13-June 29, 2023: Gösta Peterson Photographs 1960s-1970s, Deborah Bell Photographs, New York City (solo exhibition) • October 8, 2022 – February 12, 2023: A Personal View of High Fashion & Street Style, Photographs from the Nicola Erni Collection 1930s to Now, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida (group exhibition) • In January 2015: From The Archive, Turn Gallery, New York City (solo exhibition) • May 6-August 9, 2009: The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion, The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City (group exhibition) • March–April 2008: Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children, DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts (group exhibition) • October 18-November 30, 1986: Dagsländor, Fotografiska Museet i Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden (solo exhibition) Peterson's photographs are held in museum collections worldwide, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA; and private collections such as The James Moores Collection, Liverpool, England (formerly Pulsynetic, London).
[1] Gösta Peterson is the recipient of multiple awards, including: • 1963: 42nd Annual National Exhibition of Advertising and Editorial Art and Design of the New York Art Directors Club • 1979: The Art Directors Club 58th Annual Exhibition Merit Awards for his photographs for Ralph Lauren and Chloe • 1980: The Art Directors Club 58th Annual Exhibition Merit Awards for his photographs for "Fox" • 1981: Award of Excellence CA-81, 22nd Annual Exhibition Sponsored by Communication Arts Magazine -- Consumer Magazine Ad Campaign (Ruth Scharf, client / DBA Group Two, agency) • 1982: The Certificate of Excellence for the exhibition Communication Graphics 1982 Awarded by the American Institute of Graphic Arts • 1983: Award of Excellence CA-83, 24th Annual Exhibition Sponsored by Communication Arts Magazine -- Consumer Magazine Ad Campaign (AT&T Communications, client / NW Ayer Inc., agency) Gösta and Patricia Peterson have a daughter Annika Peterson, the owner of Turn Gallery and an actor and a son Jan Krister Peterson, a director and cinematographer who is married to the photographer Enid Crow.