Gjon Mili (1904–1984) was an Albanian photographer from Korçë who developed his profession in America, best known for his work published in Life, in which he photographed artists such as Pablo Picasso.
Portrait photography by Gjon Mili
Mili spent his childhood in Romania, attending Gheorghe Lazăr National College in Bucharest, and migrating to the United States in 1923. In 1939, he started to work as a photographer for Life (a position he held until he died in 1984). He was a pioneer in the use of stroboscopic instruments to capture a sequence of actions in one photograph, and was one of the first to use electronic flash and stroboscopic light to create photographs that had more than scientific interest. Many of his images revealed the intricacy and flow of movement too rapid or complex for the naked eye to discern.
Over the course of more than four decades, thousands of his pictures were published by Life as well as other publications. Mili died of pneumonia in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of 79. These stunning photos are part of his work that Gjon Mili took portraits of classic beauties in the 1940s and 1950s.
Analee Daniels, photo by Gjon Mili for Life magazine, circa 1940s
Analee Daniels, photo by Gjon Mili, circa 1940s
Model dancing in satin evening dress, photo by Gjon Mili, New York, 1940
Betty Bruce doing a routine from Broadway show “High Kickers”, photo by Gjon Mili, New York, 1941
Model in fine wool coat-dress from Fortnum & Mason with miniature poodle, photo by Gjon Mili, June 1943
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