Marilyn Stafford's portraits

The great photographer Marilyn Stafford has died at 97. Her fashion photography of the 50s and 60s has the freedom and freshness of great street photography, and she produced some impressive photojournalism from the Middle East and India. I'm especially impressed with her portraits; I'll post my favourites here.

This was taken at Marilyn Stafford's first photoshoot, in 1948. She was the impromptu still photographer for a documentary film being made by a couple of friends at Albert Einstein's office in Princeton.

"On the way, they gave me a 35mm camera and told me to take pictures while they filmed. I’d no idea what I was doing. I’d never used a 35mm before so they had to give me a quick lesson in the back of the car."

Édith Piaf with Eddie Constantine and Charles Aznavour, following tea at the Grand Hôtel, Paris, c. 1950. Marilyn Stafford was herself a singer, and got to know Piaf very well.

I think this is my favourite Marilyn Stafford portrait, of Edith Piaf, from c. 1950. It's so refreshing to see a Piaf portrait where she's happy and relaxed; in most she seems tortured and bereft.

"Piaf always performed wearing black, here she is joyously wearing white, the day we all went out to tea at the Grand Hôtel de Paris."

Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris, c. 1950. HCB and Robert Capa were mentors for Marilyn Stafford in Paris when she was considering becoming a professional photographer.

Le Corbusier by Marilyn Stafford, Paris, c. 1950

Italo Calvino by Marilyn Stafford, Rome, c. 1959

Twiggy by Marilyn Stafford, London, c. 1966

Carlo Levi by Marilyn Stafford, Rome, 1960

Albert Finney by Marilyn Stafford, London, 1967

John Osborne by Marilyn Stafford, London, 1967

Alan Bates by Marilyn Stafford, London, c. 1970

Roland Penrose by Marilyn Stafford, London, c. 1965. The leader of the British surrealists has a yummy Picasso painting on his study wall!

Jonathan Miller by Marilyn Stafford, London, 1969

Here she is: Marilyn Stafford by Gene Fenn, Paris, 1950s

"I’d take a camera with me everywhere and do 'happy snaps', but even then it didn’t cross my mind to become a professional photographer until I lost my voice and realised I couldn’t go on singing."