PARIS.- The Maison Européenne de la Photographie has shared that 'Lisa Fonssagrives - Penn Fashion Icon' will be exhibited in their gallery, opening today, in Paris. The exhibition will include many works by Fernand Fonssagrives, Lisa's first husband and acclaimed fashion photographer.

Lisa met Fernand Fonssagrives through their mutual love of dance and worked with him as a private dance teacher. They married in 1935 and this opened the door to both of their very successful careers, Lisa's in modelling and Fernand's in photography. Fernand Fonssagrives began his career photographing Lisa's elegant, sculptural form. She was a constant inspiration and together they produced many incredible images.

The exhibition at the MEP explores the personal collection of model, dancer, photographer, stylist and sculptor, Lisa Fonssagrives - Penn. The presentation will feature around 150 prints of the first supermodel by great fashion photographers of the 20th Century including, Horst P. Horst, Irving Penn, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Erwin Blumenfeld and Fernand Fonssagrives.

Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn (1911-1992), dancer, model, photographer, stylist and sculptor, is considered to be the first ‘supermodel’ in history. For 20 years, she was frequently featured in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, appearing on around 200 covers of the leading fashion magazines of her time. In 1949, at the age of 38, she was at the height of her career, and appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

A much sought-after model, she collaborated with the greatest fashion photographers of the period: Fernand Fonssagrives, her first husband; Horst P. Horst, whose favourite model she was; George Hoyningen-Huene, George Platt Lynes, Erwin Blumenfeld, who famously photographed her hanging from the Eiffel Tower in a dress by Lucien Lelong; Louise Dahl- Wolfe, whose resolutely modern style suited Lisa perfectly; Irving Penn, whom she married in 1950, and who made her his partner in his greatest photographs, Richard Avedon, her friend Frances McLaughlin-Gill, the first woman photographer to be signed by Vogue; and many others, including Kathryn Abbe, James Abbe Jr., Gene Fenn, Otto Fenn, Toni Frissell, Harold Halma, Genevieve Naylor, John Rawlings and Lillian Bassman.

More than just a model, Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn contributed extensively to the creative process. Most of the photographs were taken in the studio and required long hours of preparation and a real connection between photographer and model.

To coincide with this exhibition, Michael Hoppen Gallery has curated a dedicated viewing room and online exhibition with some of Fernand Fonssagrives's most acclaimed images.