light it for this purpose, and if that can’t be done with art,
then art be damned! Show the dress.”
He assisted Jimmy Moore, Hiro and printed for Avedon before leaving for Paris to be a photographer in his own right. He started working for French Vogue and stayed in Europe, where he worked mostly for British Vogue before moving back to New York.
In 1964 Andy Warhol hired him to document a year in his life; the 400 duotone photos were published in 2003 as A Year in the Life of Andy Warhol.
Stember first became enamored with female beauty as a subject for his work in the 1960’s on meeting the stunning young supermodel Jean Shrimpton with David Bailey as a teenager, while working as an apprentice to fashion photographer John French in London. He subsequently opened his first photography studio in West Hampstead, London at age 19.
She spent twenty five years as the face of CoverGirl (the longest running cosmetics contract of any model in history, has appeared on over 500 magazine covers, and has signed contracts with major brands — both fashion and non-fashion.
From the beginning she worked with the elite in Paris and New York: Guy Bourdin, Helmut Newton, Albert Watson, Patrick Demarchelier, Irving Penn, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino.
A master at her craft and a consummate expert on beauty. Her multi-cultural background, European upbringing and professional savvy make her a powerful player in her industry.
In 2011 Bell closed her gallery to join Christie’s New York as Head of the Photographs Department.
In 2014 she re-established Deborah Bell Photographs.
A native of Minnesota, Bell received a BFA in Photography from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1976, and an MA in Art History from Hunter College in 1984.
From 1991-96 she was an adjunct professor of the History of Photography at the School of Visual Arts, New York.
During the 1960s, she worked very closely with fashion designer Rudi Gernreich, a signature style, pop clothes, false eyelashes and heavy eye makeup.
Her hairstyle, an asymmetrical bowl cut, created by Vidal Sassoon, became known as the "five point". Her unique look became an icon of the 1960s fashion scene.
He worked successfully in fashion photography in Paris, while collaborating with poets of the LANGUAGE movement.
His fine art prints have been exhibited and collected internationally.
Post college, he was a photo assistant to modern masters Richard Avedon, and Bruce Weber while attending The Whitney Independent Study program.