Kay Bell Reynal (1905-1977), Fashion photographer

Artist of 3 portraits
Reynal took up photography as the result of a dare in 1943. She was working as an associate editor for Vogue in New York, and was given a camera by the then art director. Two years later she set up a studio in an Eastside townhouse, and there, working with a hand-held camera by natural light, she produced fashion photographs and portraits that are marked by their elegance and informality. In 1947 she married the publisher Eugene Reynal, and through him came into contact with many of the leading writers of the day, often photographing them 'after lunch,' as she put it, in relaxed and less guarded moments.