Irene Fay

Irene Fay (1914-1986) was an artist who spoke five languages and lived many lives. She was born in Russia, raised in Germany, escaped from Poland, and trained with Gotthard Schuh and Hans Finsler in Switzerland. She emigrated from Europe to New York City in 1948, settling with her family in Greenwich Village, where she lived until her death in 1986. After becoming a citizen in 1954, Irene worked as a freelance photographer to help support her growing family. From 1937 to 1984, Irene created an estimated 3,000 privately commissioned studio portraits, with half of those coming from her New York City studio. In 1973 she joined Witkin Gallery - among the first successful commercial photography galleries in New York City. She was represented there for the next ten years before moving over to Neikrug Gallery. As a member of the famed New York Camera Club, Irene met and became friends with neighbours André Kertész, Lisette Model, Evelyn Hofer, and Diane Arbus. In an inscription in her self-titled book, Lisette Model wrote “to Irene Fay, one of my favourite photographers.”

During her years in the United States, Irene created the photographs that she is most known for – clothing draped over chairs and clotheslines, mysterious exteriors, mannequins, and still life images that study the effects of light and shadow. She photographed the things and people that surrounded her, creating work that was autobiographical in nature and a universe of her own. She was a master in the darkroom, using her skills to transform her images into mysterious photographic objects for the eye. Irene once said, “Perhaps it is my dream to possess a perfectly arranged miniature world of my own, always at my command.”

The prints offered here are sourced directly from the artist's estate and are available exclusively through FFOTO.

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In the FFOTO Blog:

Read our biography: Irene Fay: The Diamonds are in the Enlarger

Find our interview with Irene's close associate, Vance Stevens

Learn about preparing the archive for FFOTO, in Cataloguing the Collection

Enjoy Irene Fay: In Her Own Words