09/08/2021
A lot more energy than the ladies in the windows in Amsterdam. Who knows if photos like this art still possible?
Ormond Gigli's most iconic photograph "Women in Windows," was a spontaneous stroke of genius. One morning in 1960, while looking out his studio window on East 58th Street, he was struck with the beauty of the row of brownstones that were about to be demolished. He quickly contacted the demolition supervisor to ask permission to take a photo of women in each of the windows at number 320. The supervisor agreed- so long as his wife was cast, and they could shoot during the crew's lunch hour the next day. With just 24 hours to pull it off, Gigli reached out to every model in his Rolodex, and managed to borrow a Rolls Royce to park in the front. The next morning, models, socialites, and the photographer's wife started arriving in taxis, dressed in their best. Gigli got on his studio fire escape, directed and rearranged by dress color using a bull horn, and was able to snap the shot in just an hour- before the cops found out. By the way, the supervisor's wife is third floor, third from left! 320 East 58th Street was torn down that week.
