396
Work” was devoted to de Meyer’s work with fourteen
de Meyer photogravures. Among the images in that is-
sue was an example of one of his haunting and exotic
portraits—“Marchesa Luisa Casati,” 1912 (Baltimore
Art Museum). De Meyer had met Casati in Venice,
where she frequently appeared in exotic dress designed
by Leon Bakst, and fl oated down the Grand Canal in
a gondola accompanied by exotic creatures and an
entourage of servants. In the portrait the viewer meets
the Marchesa head on, her chin resting on her bejeweled
hands, her large dark eyes, searching, and piercing the
viewer’s eyes.
The signature that de Meyer used on many of his
mats was infl uenced by the style of the Vienna Seces-
sionists for their graphics. As Stieglitz, de Meyer was
also drawn to the autochrome process in 1907, and ex-
perimented with color imagery and the subtle nuances
the autochrome process allowed.
De Meyer was drawn to the work of the German and
Austrian Symbolists, particularly Gustav Klimt, as he
attempted in portraits such as the portrait of Marchesa
Luisa Casati, his wife Olga, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whit-
ney, Josephine Baker, or Vaslav Nijinsky, to go ‘beneath
the surface’ of an elegant exterior, probing and suggest-
ing a complicated, and sometimes troubled interior.
De Meyer photographed his wife Olga, frequently. A
1900 untitled portrait of her (International Museum of
Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, NY)
shows her in profi le, with a lacy shawl, set against the
soft focus background of a grape arbor. Her hair is swept
upward, visually integrated with the grape vine tendrils,
linking the young woman with the fruits of nature. Her
regal features made Olga a natural model.
In his numerous images of Nijinsky, de Meyer cap-
tures not only the likeness and adeptness of Nijinsky’s
dance techniques, but also transports the viewer into
Nijinsky’s world of fantasy and grace. (Nijinsky’s
career ended in 1919 due to insanity, three years after
de Meyer’s portrait of him as the “Favorite Slave in
Schéhérazade” appeared in “Vogue,” May 15, 1916.)
De Meyer’s magazine work included not only his
photographs, but also his writing editorials, beginning in
1915 at “Vogue.” His writings were primarily observa-
tions of social life and the fashion world. De Meyer’s
magazine photographs were noted for their luminosity
that highlighted jewelry, exotic fabrics and the sheen of
his models’ hair. One of his most noted series in “Vogue”
was a 1918 series entitled the “Bride’s Yearbook.”
De Meyer’s move to “Harper’s Bazar” in 1922, in-
augurated his experimentation with a more “modernist
look” as his layouts began to employ sharp geometric
shapes, sometimes fractured, and layered, suggesting
the infl uence of Cubist or Bauhaus forms.
De Meyer’s wife, Olga, died during the end of his
time at “Harper’s Bazar.” Her death left de Meyer
somewhat adrift circulating around Europe, often ac-
companied by younger men with whom he was reported
to have had a number of affairs. Indeed, when he fl ed
Europe in 1938 to escape the oncoming war, he brought
one of these young men, Ernest, to the United States
with him to live in Los Angeles. Ernest served fi rst as
de Meyer’s chauffeur and then was later adopted by de
Meyer to validate his presence in the United States.
De Meyer, in his last years in Los Angeles, did a few
society portraits, wrote a screenplay, an autobiography,
and some romantic novels, none of which were pub-
lished. In 1940 Mrs. Edward G. Robinson organized an
exhibition of his work. But since he had destroyed much
of his photographic work, he had to contact Stieglitz to
fi nd out what Stieglitz had.
De Meyer died in 1946 of coronary thrombosis, at
age seventy-eight. His obituary in the Los Angeles Times
did not mention his photographic work. His remaining
estate was left primarily to his lover, and adopted son,
Ernest; in 1980 much of that material was auctioned at
Sotheby’s in New York.
De Meyer’s photographic work did indeed help lift
photography to the realm of fi ne art. From his soft focus
pictorial images to his Modernist magazine layouts, de
Meyer’s beautifully lit portraits, of all levels of society
from the few peasants of the European and North African
countryside to the affl uent upper-class, to his magazine
layouts, to his elegant but simple still lifes-these works
provide a lasting legacy, illustrating the power of the
photographic medium beginning early in the twentieth
century, in black and white, and in color.
Katherine HoffmanBiography
1868—Born Adolph Meyer to Adele Watson and Adol-
phus Meyer (later adopted name Meyer-Watson;
Baron not used until after 1898).
1870s–1880s—Childhood in Paris and Germany.
1894–1895—Exhibits photographs in London, Paris,
Brussels, New York; Listing, Dresden, 8 Park Strasse,
as addresss
1896—Moves to London, joins London Camera Club,
exhibits work at London Camera Club, Royal Photo-
graphic Society; becomes part of London upper class
social circles related to the Prince of Wales.
1897—Meets and marries Olga Alberta, reportedly the
illegitimate daughter of the Prince of Wales (later
Edward VII) and Blanche, Duchess of Caraciolla;
Photograph of Olga published in “The Photographic
Times”.
1898–1899—Joins Royal Photographic Society and
elected to The Linked Ring
1900—Photographs shown in exhibit organized by F.
Holland Day: “New School of American Photogra-