Ormond Gigli made a name for himself in the early 1950s by photographing fashion models — and then moving on to stars of the stage and screen, musicians, artists, presidents, kings, and foreign lands — for Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, Saturday Evening Post and others. The 90-year-old Gigli, who lives with his wife, Sue, in West Stockbridge, Mass., is one of two master photographers featured in “Icons, Artists and Divas," now showing at Sohn Fine Art in Lenox. The exhibit, which features a rare gold leaf print of Gigli’s most famous photograph, the award-winning "Girls In The Windows," taken in 1960, is on view until August 7. I got my big break when I was living in Paris in 1952. I had an appointment to show my photos to Life magazine, and when I walked in, Robert Capa was there and I’m wondering, “How the hell am I going to get in there?" I showed my work to the managing editor and I got back on the Metro. I had no money then so I went all the way back to the middle of the woods where I lived in a hotel, and by the time I got there, Life had called and said “Come back, we have an assignment for you." That changed my life. They gave me a fashion opening to shoot, featuring what the whole world was going to be wearing — Givenchy, all the most famous designers. I was starving the week before, and now here I was next to Vogue and Glamour.
I’ve traveled all over the world; I photographed all of Saudi Arabia for their government, all of the big plays that came to town. I was assigned to photograph President Kennedy in Connecticut the night he announced he was running for president. I was just doing some black and whites, you know “click click click," and he had a lot of people in the hotel room — he hadn’t announced anything yet but he was choosing his cabinet! I went into the bedroom to change film and he came in and said “Don’t you want to get more?" and I said, “Mister President, you’re making all these deals — I don’t know if you want me in there." Afterwards, we ended up having steak and a few beers. That was my first time meeting Kennedy. I met my wife in Europe; Sue was an actress and I photographed her with Fellini and Sophia Loren when Loren was just starting to become known. I took some with Sue and a handsome Italian actor in the gondolas for The American Weekly. When I finished, I sent the Italian actor away and I told Sue “I have to go to Switzerland. Do you want to go?" She said yes and two months later we were married.
She moved with me to New York City, where I’m originally from. We had a brownstone on 58th Street where we lived and brought up two sons, and where I had my studio. I worked a lot for Time and Life magazines, Sports Illustrated, and The Saturday Evening Post. We’ve had a house for 48 years in West Stockbridge. Originally, we came only on weekends. We wanted privacy and views, because my everyday life in NYC was full — my phone would ring and I’d have to go to London or somewhere. We found a farm up here and it’s fabulous. It has great views; it’s what I was hoping for. My favorite photograph is "Girls in the Window." They were tearing down these buildings opposite my studio, and I thought if I can stick a girl in each window... I had a great staff, so I sent them to go ask if the foreman could take out the windows. He said he’d do it but I had to put his wife in the photo. I put 42 ladies in there, including his wife and my wife. You never know what’s going to happen when you’re doing it — is a girl going to fall out? — but I knew after it was over that it was good. People have tried to copy it, but it never comes out as well. Except for The New Yorker, which had a cover with a dog in every window instead of a girl; that was pretty good.
