girls in the windows
Girls in the Windows
Ormond Gigli, 1960
Dye coupler print, 37 x 37 in
Black wood frame, matted, glazed 50 ½ x 50 ½ in
Edition 6/45
Signed LR “Ormond Gigli 6/45”, LL “New York City 1960”
Ormond Gigli is a famed photojournalist with an impressive career spanning over 4 decades. He is known for both intimate and revealing portrait as well as large scale highly curated and impactful pieces. Some early subjects of his include famed pop culture personalities of the time such as a young Sophia Lauren, Marcel Duchamp, JFK, Halston, Judy Garland, and Sir Laurence Olivier to name a few.
When Gigli noticed a NY brownstone across from his studio being demolished, he saw an opportunity to honor the building. He posted a local add to women to style themselves and arrive the next day in their best and brightest attire. Seeing the windows as frames, the models were each placed, old to pose and the photo was shot during the constructions worker’s lunch break. The resulting work is one of the most famous shots of the 60’s, capturing the beauty of old New York, highlighting the fashion of the time, and respecting the progress of the future.
*To learn more, visit the artist’s website: https://ormondgigli.com
- As you walk outside, look up into the windows of the Beacon Hill Hotel- you will notice the ceiling on each floor was painted a bright glossy color – maybe their own homage to the work of Gigli…
- While you’re exploring the neighborhood, keep an eye out for panes of purple glass in some of the original Beacon Hill homes- unlike the ceilings in the hotel, this was not a stylistic choice but rather a chemical mistake in a batch of glass from the early 19th century. Too much manganese oxide was added which over time with the exposure to sunlight has tinted the glass purple. This is now a historic feature of the neighborhood and a bit of a bragging right.