Mary Jane Russell

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Birth Name: Mary Jane Walton

Country of origin: United States

Currently Residing In: United States

Height: 5' 6"

Lists

33 votes

Models of the '50s (22 items)
list by emberlin

Published 8 years, 1 month ago

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11 votes

Favorite Models (30 items)
list by pdgregg

Published 8 years ago

1 comment

2 votes

Fashion Models of the 1950s (39 items)
list by franceseattle

Published 4 years, 3 months ago

2 votes

Modeling-Some of the Best according to me... (108 items)
list by Akirah

Published 5 years, 2 months ago

1 comment

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Photos

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Description: Mary Jane Walton and Edward Russell had their wedding on December 21, to take advantage of the longest night of the year. The couple had met in high school. After, Mary Jane went to Sarah Lawrence and studied art while Edward served as a radioman in the South Pacific during WWII. He sent her love letters decorated with hand-drawn cartoons, addressed to ''The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Bronxville, New York.'' Born in New Jersey in 1926, Russell began modeling in 1948, close to when Dior’s ‘New Look’ changed women's clothing forever. Though not as tall as most fashion models (5’6”), her elegant, classical look Mary Jane Walton and Edward Russell had their wedding on December 21, to take advantage of the longest night of the year. The couple had met in high school. After, Mary Jane went to Sarah Lawrence and studied art while Edward served as a radioman in the South Pacific during WWII. He sent her love letters decorated with hand-drawn cartoons, addressed to ''The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Bronxville, New York.''

Born in New Jersey in 1926, Russell began modeling in 1948, close to when Dior’s ‘New Look’ changed women's clothing forever. Though not as tall as most fashion models (5’6”), her elegant, classical look (and long neck) were described by Eileen Ford as ‘exquisite’. She signed with the Ford modeling agency and stayed with them for the next 13 years.

A favorite subject of Louise Dahl-Wolfe, it has been estimated that Russell was the subject of about 30% of Dahl-Wolfe’s photos; an astoundingly large number. “Louise was a benevolent dictator, except with Mary Jane, she’d let Mary Jane say, ‘I think the dress would show better this way.’” Russell was also a favorite of Irving Penn, worked regularly with Richard Avedon & William Klein, and appeared regularly on the covers of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.

She retired from modeling in the early 60’s, after a complicated lawsuit erupted in 1956 over the inappropriate use of one of her photographs. An Avedon image she posed for was sold by a client to another company, one known for sleazy practices. They doctored the image, held a contest for a caption, then ran in 3 major magazines. In 1959, the New York Supreme Court agreed that it was damaging to her image, and that the release she’d signed did NOT allow for other the sale or use of the photo. Today, the case is still used in law school textbooks.

Russell had 3 sons with her husband, and they spent 37 years in New York before moving to South Carolina where she became active in democratic politics. Russell was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2003, and died only a few weeks later at a hospital in Charleston, South Carolina at 77. ... (more)

Tags: American (1), Model (1), Fashion Model (1), American Model (1), 50s Model (1)

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