DOROTHY RICE

An important archive of approximately 400 photographs depicting 1950s top model Dorothy Rice. Various photographers, circa 1945-1958. About 400 vintage gelatin silver prints and other photographs, mostly 14 x 11 inches or smaller. Prominent photographers include Milton Greene, Phillipe Halsman, Roger Prigent, Erwin Blumenfeld, Fernand Fonssagrives, Hiro, Francesco Scavullo, Fritz Henle, Jerry Schatzberg, and others. The photographs are occasionally signed on the recto by the photographers, but most are variously stamped or marked on the verso, with most photographers identified in ink. Most photographs are in fine condition. Some bear creases, short tears, edgewear, or signs of handling (a very few bear significant surface damage). Only a selection of the nearly 400 images are reproduced here; please inquire of the department to view the entire collection.

Provenance: The photographs present here were gifted to Dorothy Rice by the various photographers or magazines and represent her retained set of career images. A proud possession kept for decades, Dorothy Rice died in 2023 at 98 years old.

Dorothy Rice (1924-2023) was a model, painter, sculptor, and actress who began her career as a model in the early 1940s and gained prominence as one of the main American models for Christian Dior's landmark "New Look" collection. In 1953, Esquire published a thirteen-photo spread on Dorothy entitled, "The Girl Who Tops the List of the Ten Most Wanted Models." From the 1940s to the '60s, Rice remained in high demand as a model, working with many of the era's top fashion photographers. Following modeling, Dorothy Rice enjoyed a long career as a fine artist. For more on the life and career of Dorothy Rice, please see the recent Doyle Notebook article.

Such primary collections of fashion photographs from this era are infrequently, if ever, encountered at auction. As most of the photographers represented here are deceased and their archives, negatives, and contact sheets scattered if extant, assembling a comparable group of not only published images but also secondary shots would be impossible today. The images show Dorothy Rice's versatility as a model, and the groups of images from individual fashion shoots are highly evocative of this important and pioneering period of couture and fashion photography.

The photographers represented in this collection include:

Russell Barnett Aitken: six photographs measuring between 8 x 10 and 11 x 14 inches

Arnold Studios: one photograph mounted on cardboard measuring 10 ½ x 13 ¼ inches

Mike Barbero: nine photographs measuring between 7 ¼ x 9 ¼ and 11 x 14 inches

Peter Basch: fifty-six photographs measuring between 8 x 10 and 11 x 14 inches

Erwin Blumenfeld: six photographs measuring between 9 x 11 ½ and 10 ½ x 13 ½ inches

Richard S. Brugriere: ten photographs measuring between 9 x 12 and 10 x 14 inches

Steve Calhoun: two photographs each measuring 10 x 13 inches

Tom Caravaglia: six photographs all measuring 8 x 10 inches

Tommy Castello: one photograph measuring 10 x 13 inches

Leigh Charell: three photographs measuring between 7 ¾ x 9 ½ and 8 ½ x 11 ¾ inches

Elliot Clarke: three photographs all measuring 10 x 13 inches

Clifford Coffin: one photograph measuring 11 ¼ x 14 inches

Gaylord Davis: four photographs all measuring 11 x 14 inches

Gleb Derujinsky: nine photographs measuring between 10 ½ x 13 ¼ and 10 ½ x 14 inches

Joe Di Sesso: thirteen photographs all measuring 11 x 14 inches

Jerry Ehrlich: nine photographs measuring between 10 x 13 ½ and 11 x 14 inches

Alan Fontaine: two photographs both measuring 10 x 13 inches

Fernand Fonssagrives: eleven photographs measuring between 10 x 8 and 11 x 14 inches

Robert Forman: two photographs measuring 7 ¼ x 9 ½ and 11 x 14 inches

Ewing Galloway: one photograph measuring 10 ¼ x 13 ¼ inches

Paul Garrison: two photographs both measuring 10 ½ x 13 ¼ inches

Milton Greene: five photographs measuring between 8 x 10 and 10 ½ x 13 ¼ inches

Habershaw (Henry Haberman and Frank Gershaw): six photographs measuring between 10 x 12 ¾ and 10 ¾ x 13 ¾ inches

Philippe Halsman: two photographs measuring 7 ¾ x 9 ¾ and 10 ¾ x 13 ¾ inches

Edward Handler: one photograph measuring 10 ¼ x 13 ½ inches

Peter Happel: seventeen photographs measuring between 8 x 10 and 11 x 13 ¾ inches

Phillip Harrington: three photographs all measuring 13 ¼ x 10 ½ inches

Fritz Henle: one photograph measuring 10 ½ x 12 ½ inches

Walter Herstatt: three photographs measuring between 7 ½ x 11 and 10 ½ x 12 ¼ inches

Elizabeth R. Hibbs: one photograph measuring 8 x 10 inches

Hiro: one photograph measuring 10 ½ x 13 ½ inches

Ira Hill: one photograph measuring 11 x 13 ¾ inches

Donald Honeyman: two photographs measuring 8 x 9 ¾ and 9 ¼ x 11 ¾ inches

Peter S. Kaufmann: one photograph measuring 8 x 9 ¾ inches

Lionel Kazan: seven photographs all measuring 11 x 14 inches

Ewing Krainin: seven photographs all measuring 11 x 14 ¼ inches

Stanley McDonald: one photograph measuring 10 ½ x 13 ½ inches

John Morrin: nineteen photographs all measuring 10 ½ x 13 ½ inches

Muky Studio: four photographs measuring between 7 ½ x 9 ¼ and 10 ½ x 13 ½ inches

Martin Munkácsi: one photograph, measuring 10 ¾ x 13 ¼ inches

Carl Oppenheimer: three photographs all measuring 8 x 10 inches

Burt Owen: thirty-seven photographs measuring between 10 x 10 ½ and 10 ¾ x 14 inches

Tom Palumbo: two photographs, both measuring 10 ¼ x 13 ¼ inches

Philip Pegler: five photographs measuring between 10 ¼ x 13 ¼ and 11 x 14 inches

Jerry Plucer-Sarna: four photographs all measuring 10 ½ x 13 inches

Polito Studio: one photograph measuring 8 x 10 inches

Roger Prigent: eighteen photographs measuring between 8 ¼ x 11 ¼ and 11 x 13 ¼ inches

John Rawlings: one photograph measuring 9 ¾ x 14 ½ inches

Gary Renaud: ten photographs measuring between 8 ½ x 13 ¼ and 10 x 13 ¼ inches

Ernest E. Reshovsky: two photographs measuring 9 ½ x 6 ½ and 9 ¼ x 7 ¼ inches

Francesco Scavullo: twenty-four photographs measuring between 9 x 9 ½ and 10 ¾ x 13 ¼ inches

Jerry Schatzberg: one photograph measuring 10 ¼ x 13 ½ inches

Carmen Schiavone: six photographs all measuring 11 x 14 inches

Rick Strauss: two photographs measuring 7 ½ x 9 ¼ and 10 ½ x 13 ½ inches

Henry Wolf: six photographs measuring between 9 x 13 ¼ and 10 ½ x 13 ½ inches

Dan Wynn: six photographs mounted on cardboard, all measuring 11 x 14 inches

Thirty photographs by unidentified artists. Most measure around 10 x 13 inches.