Portraits by Gisèle Freund, part 1

 One of my favourite portrait photographers, and one of the greatest, is Gisèle Freund, who lived from 1908 to 2000. Her life was full of incident - her Wikipedia article makes a great read - and her list of friends includes Walter Benjamin, Sylvia Beach, André Malraux, Victoria Ocampo and Frida Kahlo.

I hadn't seen many of these portraits before, but there are more to come. I'll post Part 2 soon!

A self-portrait of Gisèle Freund from c. 1968.

Simone De Beauvoir by Gisèle Freund, 1948.

Virginia Woolf by Gisèle Freund, 1939. This was taken in Tavistock Square; the fresco behind Woolf is by Vanessa Bell.

Frida Kahlo by Gisèle Freund, Mexico City, 1951.

Walter Benjamin by Gisèle Freund, late 1930s.

Katherine Anne Porter by Gisèle Freund, College Park, Maryland, 1970.

Gisèle Freund, Agnès Varda en train de filmer, 1964. She may be filming Le Bonheur, released in 1965.

Hanna Schygulla by Gisèle Freund, 1984.

Manuel Alvarez Bravo by Gisèle Freund, Arles, 1979. Two great photographers together.

Hermann Hesse by Gisèle Freund, 1962. This was taken in his study in Montagnola.

Alfonso Reyes in his library, at La Chapelle Alfonsina, Mexico, 1952. A remarkable photograph by Gisèle Freund (and a remarkable library!)

Mary McCarthy by Gisèle Freund, c. 1966-68.

Sylvia Beach in her bookstore "Shakespeare & Co", rue de l'Odéon, Paris, 1936. Another wonderful portrait by Gisèle Freund. Stay tuned for Part 2!