J. Frederick Smith, a photographer and illustrator of the sensual, dies at 88.

J. Frederick Smith, a famous magazine illustrator turned commercial photographer, died on October 22, at the age of 88.
    Today, Smith isn’t a well known figure in photography; I had heard his name but wasn’t really aware of his work until recently. But his career was fascinating, encompassing both illustration and photography.

Born in Pasadena, California in 1917, Smith attended the Chouinard School of Art in Los Angeles on a Walt Disney scholarship, where he studied painting and design. In 1938 he moved to New York City and joined the Charles E. Cooper studio, a prestigious illustration studio. There, Smith produced work for the Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Red Book, and other magazines. Perhaps his best-known work at this time came during World War II, when he contracted with Esquire magazine to do a monthly illustration featuring sexy girls in lingerie—the kind of art that ended up repainted on the nose of American bombers.
     His career changed in 1956 when Conde Nast editorial director Alexander Liberman called Smith into his office and gave him an assignment for Vogue. Smith assumed it would be another illustration, but Liberman, looking into the future, told him to shoot a photograph instead. It wasn’t that big of a stretch for Smith, who’d long used photos as the basis for his illustrations. Nonetheless, there were differences between the two crafts. “I never realized what a physical business photography was,” Smith said. “I had been sitting on my ass painting all these years. Now, after a day on my feet photographing, I was more tired than I’d ever been.”
     Smith went on the shoot for Cosmopolitan, Essence, Look, and Town & Country, as well as commercial clients like Ford, Cartier, Smirnoff vodka, and Revlon. But it was his sensuous photographs of women for magazines like Playboy, Lui, and Viva during the 1970s that will probably be best remembered. He also published several books, including Sappho: The Art of Loving Women; Always a Woman, and J. Frederick Smith: Photographing Sensuality.—David Schonauer

Comments

[Rey Emmanuelle]

I m french graphiste desgner, I wanted to use a photography done by J Frederick Smith. How can I do to have autorisation?
Can you answer me
Thank you very much
Emmanuelle

[Phyllis Burcz]

Whatever happened to Kaylan Pickford, a model he photographed beautifully. She passed away in 2004 - how did she pass away and did she have a happy life after the passing of her two husbands?