Lillian Bassman was born in 1917 into an immigrant family of free-thinking intellectuals and was brought up with a mindset that allowed her to live as an independent and unconventional woman. ​She worked as a textile designer and fashion illustrator before working at Harper's Bazaar with Alexey Brodovitch and ultimately becoming a photographer. Bassman's fashion images are unique, and achieve their effect through manipulation in the dark room. Appearing in Harper's Bazaar from the 1940s to the 1960s, her work was categorized by their elegance and grace. Bassman had transformed these photographs into original works of art through her darkroom techniques in which she blurs and bleaches the images, investing them with poetry, mystery, and glamour.