Carmel Snow
Encyclopedia
Carmel Snow was the influential editor of the American edition of Harper's Bazaar
from 1934 to 1958 and, after her retirement, the chairman of the magazine's editorial board.
, Ireland
, a daughter of Peter White, the head of the Irish Wool Manufacturing and Export Company, and his wife, the former Annie Mayne. Carmel White moved with her family to the United States as a child, after her father's death, when her newly-widowed mother was called upon to replace him as the head of the Irish pavilion of the Chicago World's Fair. Carmel had several siblings, including Victor White, a painter who decorated the Roof Ballroom of the St. Regis hotel, and Christine (White) Holbrook, who became the editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens
. She also three additional brothers, Thomas Justin White, Peter Desmond White and James Mayne White.
Carmel White married a prominent society lawyer, George Palen Snow, in 1926 and had three daughters: Carmel, Mary Palen, and Brigid. Her granddaughter Megan Flanigan married George Skakel III, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy. George Skakel III's grandparents were both killed in a plane crash in 1955, his father was killed in a plane crash in 1966, and his mother Joan Skakel died in 1967 at age 39 after choking on a piece of meat. Meanwhile his then 13-year old brother Mark was in the hospital with severe injuries as a result of playing around with explosives.
in 1921 and joined Harper's Bazaar 11 years later. She famously described her goal at the latter publication as creating a magazine for "well-dressed women with well-dressed minds." Her influence at both magazines went far beyond fashion reportage: she brought cutting-edge art, fiction, photography, and reporting into the American home.
Snow was particularly gifted at discovering new talent, as well as fostering new avenues of exploration among previously-established artists. In the 1920s, she worked closely with Edward Steichen
, already a world-famous photographer, helping him to apply his talents to fashion photography, which he did to great effect, well into the 1930s.
In 1933, she hired Martin Munkacsi
, the great Hungarian photojournalist, to take his first fashion shots; she brought him and the socialite-model Lucile Brokaw to a windy, autumnal beach and, in the course of an afternoon, Munkacsi created history, by coming up with the first fashion photographs shot outdoors and in motion -- a revolutionary act.
Snow hired her famous art director Alexey Brodovitch
on the basis of an exhibition of his work in graphic design, and found her fashion editor, Diana Vreeland
, after noticing her, with her estimable chic, dancing across a crowded room. Between the three of them, Snow, Brodovitch, and Vreeland turned Harper's Bazaar into the most admired magazine of the last century. Among the now-household-names whose careers Snow encouraged are: Andy Warhol
, Maeve Brennan
, Louise Dahl-Wolfe
, Truman Capote
, Jean Cocteau
, Cecil Beaton
, Christian Dior
(his 1947 debut collection she dubbed the "New Look"), Cristobal Balenciaga
, Carson McCullers
, Kenneth Tynan
, and numerous others. She also discovered Lauren Bacall
and put her on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, an act that brought the unknown model to the attention of Hollywood.
Snow once famously said that "Elegance is good taste plus a dash of daring." She lived that saying in every aspect of her professional life, until her forced retirement from Bazaar, when she was in her seventies. Her position as editor in chief was taken over by her niece Nancy White. She died in New York City
, New York
.
As to why her reputation faded, while Vreeland went on to become a legend, photographer Richard Avedon
(quoted in "A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life in Fashion, Art,and Letters," a biography by Penelope Rowlands that was published in 2005) said: "She was older, right? And she died before stardom was the thing." He added, however, "Carmel Snow taught me everything I know." Many others, and particularly photographers, also credited her with helping them to hone their craft. Henri Cartier-Bresson
, with whom she worked closely, beginning in the 1930s, described Snow as "magic." And when the great Hungarian photographer known as Brassai
heard of Snow's retirement, he was said to have abandoned photography for good.
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
from 1934 to 1958 and, after her retirement, the chairman of the magazine's editorial board.
Family
She was born at DalkeyDalkey
Dalkey is suburb of Dublin and seaside resort in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became an important port during the Middle Ages. According to John Clyn, it was one of the ports through which the plague entered Ireland in the mid-14th century...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, a daughter of Peter White, the head of the Irish Wool Manufacturing and Export Company, and his wife, the former Annie Mayne. Carmel White moved with her family to the United States as a child, after her father's death, when her newly-widowed mother was called upon to replace him as the head of the Irish pavilion of the Chicago World's Fair. Carmel had several siblings, including Victor White, a painter who decorated the Roof Ballroom of the St. Regis hotel, and Christine (White) Holbrook, who became the editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens
Better Homes and Gardens (magazine)
Better Homes and Gardens is the fourth best selling magazine in the United States. The editor in Chief is Gayle Butler. Better Homes and Gardens focuses on interests regarding homes, cooking, gardening, crafts, healthy living, decorating, and entertaining. The magazine is published 12 times per...
. She also three additional brothers, Thomas Justin White, Peter Desmond White and James Mayne White.
Carmel White married a prominent society lawyer, George Palen Snow, in 1926 and had three daughters: Carmel, Mary Palen, and Brigid. Her granddaughter Megan Flanigan married George Skakel III, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy. George Skakel III's grandparents were both killed in a plane crash in 1955, his father was killed in a plane crash in 1966, and his mother Joan Skakel died in 1967 at age 39 after choking on a piece of meat. Meanwhile his then 13-year old brother Mark was in the hospital with severe injuries as a result of playing around with explosives.
Career and influence
After working briefly at T.M. & J.M Fox, a famous dressmaking concern in Manhattan that was owned by her mother, Snow went to work as a fashion editor at American VogueVogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
in 1921 and joined Harper's Bazaar 11 years later. She famously described her goal at the latter publication as creating a magazine for "well-dressed women with well-dressed minds." Her influence at both magazines went far beyond fashion reportage: she brought cutting-edge art, fiction, photography, and reporting into the American home.
Snow was particularly gifted at discovering new talent, as well as fostering new avenues of exploration among previously-established artists. In the 1920s, she worked closely with Edward Steichen
Edward Steichen
Edward J. Steichen was an American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator. He was the most frequently featured photographer in Alfred Stieglitz' groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its run from 1903 to 1917. Steichen also contributed the logo design and a custom typeface...
, already a world-famous photographer, helping him to apply his talents to fashion photography, which he did to great effect, well into the 1930s.
In 1933, she hired Martin Munkacsi
Martin Munkácsi
Martin Munkácsi Kolozsvar, Austro-Hungary, May 18, 1896, died July 13, 1963, New York, NY) was a Hungarian photographer who worked in Germany and the United States.- Life and Works :...
, the great Hungarian photojournalist, to take his first fashion shots; she brought him and the socialite-model Lucile Brokaw to a windy, autumnal beach and, in the course of an afternoon, Munkacsi created history, by coming up with the first fashion photographs shot outdoors and in motion -- a revolutionary act.
Snow hired her famous art director Alexey Brodovitch
Alexey Brodovitch
Alexey Brodovitch was a Russian-born photographer, designer and instructor who is most famous for his art direction of fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar from 1938 to 1958.- Early life in Russia :...
on the basis of an exhibition of his work in graphic design, and found her fashion editor, Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Born as Diana Dalziel, Vreeland was the eldest daughter of American socialite mother Emily Key Hoffman...
, after noticing her, with her estimable chic, dancing across a crowded room. Between the three of them, Snow, Brodovitch, and Vreeland turned Harper's Bazaar into the most admired magazine of the last century. Among the now-household-names whose careers Snow encouraged are: Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Maeve Brennan
Maeve Brennan
Maeve Brennan , was an Irish short story writer and journalist. She moved to the United States in 1934 when her father was appointed to the Irish Legation in Washington. She was an important figure in both Irish diaspora writing and in Irish writing itself...
, Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Louise Emma Augusta Dahl was a noted American photographer. She is known primarily for her work for Harper's Bazaar, in association with fashion editor Diana Vreeland.-Background:...
, Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
, Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
, Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
(his 1947 debut collection she dubbed the "New Look"), Cristobal Balenciaga
Cristóbal Balenciaga
Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre was a Spanish Basque fashion designer and the founder of the Balenciaga fashion house....
, Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers was an American writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and two plays, as well as essays and some poetry. Her first novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter explores the spiritual isolation of misfits and outcasts of the South...
, Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer.-Early life:...
, and numerous others. She also discovered Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
and put her on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, an act that brought the unknown model to the attention of Hollywood.
Snow once famously said that "Elegance is good taste plus a dash of daring." She lived that saying in every aspect of her professional life, until her forced retirement from Bazaar, when she was in her seventies. Her position as editor in chief was taken over by her niece Nancy White. She died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
As to why her reputation faded, while Vreeland went on to become a legend, photographer Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon was an American photographer. An obituary published in The New York Times said that "his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century."-Photography career:Avedon was born in New York City to a Jewish Russian...
(quoted in "A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life in Fashion, Art,and Letters," a biography by Penelope Rowlands that was published in 2005) said: "She was older, right? And she died before stardom was the thing." He added, however, "Carmel Snow taught me everything I know." Many others, and particularly photographers, also credited her with helping them to hone their craft. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography...
, with whom she worked closely, beginning in the 1930s, described Snow as "magic." And when the great Hungarian photographer known as Brassai
Brassaï
Brassaï was a Hungarian photographer, sculptor, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century. He was one of the numerous Hungarian artists who flourished in Paris beginning between the World Wars...
heard of Snow's retirement, he was said to have abandoned photography for good.