“The Paris social season opened with a big, elegant splash last Tuesday. ESSOR, an association for the protection of France’s abandoned children, sponsored the Winter Ball, at which some of the most distinguished names in Europe amused themselves for the benefit of needy children.”

So begins Inge Morath’s description of the Bal d’Hiver, a dance on ice performed in 1955 by European royalty, in costumes donated by couturiers including Hubert de Givenchy and Christian Dior, and attended by an international roster of celebrities, from the Countess of Paris to film star Charlie Chaplin. The exhibition at Esopus Space consisted of fourteen large-scale prints from the acclaimed photographer‘s original series, which had never been exhibited or published. The exhibition accompanied a piece in Esopus 17 that featured even more images from the series, along with facsimile reproductions of Morath’s descriptive texts for Magnum Photos and a drop-out contact sheet from the photographer’s archives.

– ANNOUNCEMENT [PDF]


– PRESS RELEASE [LINK]


– “LIGHTBOX” REVIEW AT TIME.COM [LINK]