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Billie Holiday photographed by Carl Van Vechten on March 23, 1949.
Gerry Major, who arranged the session, asked Billie to wear on a gown. Billie, ignoring the request, showed up in a grey dress. Van Vechten talked her into a more intimate look and choice of clothes which she eventually accepted with changing to a silk gown and a Gauguinesque dress underneath.
She was in a bad mood that day and the photoshoot didn’t go well until Van Vechten showed Billie his pictures of Bessie Smith. Lady Day, staring at the pictures of one of her idols, started to cry. That softened the mood drastically. They shot until dawn. That was the last time Van Vechten saw Billie Holiday.
Gerry Major, who arranged the session, asked Billie to wear on a gown. Billie, ignoring the request, showed up in a grey dress. Van Vechten talked her into a more intimate look and choice of clothes which she eventually accepted with changing to a silk gown and a Gauguinesque dress underneath.
She was in a bad mood that day and the photoshoot didn’t go well until Van Vechten showed Billie his pictures of Bessie Smith. Lady Day, staring at the pictures of one of her idols, started to cry. That softened the mood drastically. They shot until dawn. That was the last time Van Vechten saw Billie Holiday.