Paul Outerbridge

Paul Outerbridge, Jr. (August 15, 1896 – October 17, 1958) was an American photographer known for pioneering the carbon-transfer printing process in color photography. His work included still lives, fashion photography, advertising, and provocative female nudes.

Throughout his career, Outerbridge struggled to keep consistent employment. He faced criticisms for his erotic nudes and clashed with collectors and museums over his work. He is regarded today as one of the most imaginative and influential American photographers of his day.

Early life Paul Outerbridge was born in New York City and raised by his mother and father, who did not allow him to attend school until he was eleven. After graduating from the Cutler School, Outerbridge did not pursue a university education, but instead took classes in life drawing and anatomy at the Art Students’ League in New York. Determined to pursue an artistic profession despite discouragement from his father, Outerbridge began to do some freelance illustration work, such as designing a cover for Judge magazine and various posters for Wintergarden Review.

Outerbridge was 21 years old when the U.S. entered World War I. He joined the Royal Flying Corps and was eventually discharged, but then he entered the American Army and was sent to Oregon. It was in Oregon that Outerbridge found his passion for photography, as his job there involved taking numerous photographs for documentary purposes. French painter and sculptor Marcel Duchamp saw Ide Collar and was immediately impressed by its abstract qualities and its similarity to the "readymade" object. In Paris, he became well acquainted with American visual artist Man Ray, and the two remained frequent companions. It was Man Ray who introduced Outerbridge to Marcel Duchamp. In May 1929, Outerbridge was hired by Paris Vogue as a photographer of fashion accessories, where he primarily designed layouts for the magazine. He frequently ran into conflicts with the photography company Eastman Kodak over the ban on nipples and pubic hair in publicly published photographs. In 1950 he and Lois separated briefly and Outerbridge began to travel to countries such as Mexico, Uruguay, and Argentina, hoping to venture into photojournalism, but with little success. He began to write a successful monthly column entitled “About Color” that was published in the U.S. Camera magazine. However, in 1956, Outerbridge discovered that he had lung cancer; he died in October 1958 at the age of 62, despite numerous treatments. After his death, Lois continued to work with the Smithsonian in his stead, and she sold and donated much of Outerbridge’s work to various museums and buyers. Although his reputation has faded, revivals of Outerbridge's photography in the 1970s and 1990s periodically brought him back into public awareness.

Books Outerbridge, Paul. Photographing in Color. New York: Random House, 1940.

Paul Outerbridge: 1896-1958, Paul Outerbridge, Carol McCusker, Elaine Dines-Cox, M. F. Agha, and Manfred Heiting, Editor (1999), Graham Howe, with co-curators Ewing, W. and Prodger, P. Paul Outerbridge: New Color Photographs from Mexico and California, 1948–1955. Nazraeli Press, 2009.