American Goddess Jean Patchett

Jean Patchett was both model and muse, a famous face from New York’s vibrant mid-century popular culture and the most successful high-fashion model of her time. “A young American goddess in Paris couture,” was Irving Penn’s epitaph for Patchett, who he photographed for a classic series in Lima, Peru, in stunning images from the ​Vogue​ studios and for a series of nudes he called “the major artistic experience of my life.” Letters from Patchett to her family show a young woman in love with life and eager to share the thrills and struggles of her career. Quotes from photographers Cecil Beaton, John Rawlings, William “Bill” Helburn, Jerry Schatzberg, and Stephen Colhoun reflect their admiration for Patchett’s technical skills as a model as well as her unique beauty. American Goddess Jean Patchett ​captures Patchett’s career in a biographical essay and explores its scope in 120 editorial and advertising images from ​Vogue,​ ​ Glamour​, and ​Harper’s Bazaar​ —some iconic, some personal, and some that have never