In this limited edition silver gelatin print, photographer Irina Ionesco uses ordinary objects to set an intriguing scene with her daughter Eva Ionesco as her model. Unfortunately, the photograph was torn in two places during transit to the United States and sustained some damaged. Still, it is a prime example of the talent of both Irina and Eva.
The work of acclaimed Romanian-French photographer Irina Ionesco (1930-2022) has often been overshadowed by the controversial falling out she had with her daughter, actress and movie director Eva Ionesco. The conflict resulted in her estrangement and an eventual lawsuit for control of her pictures featuring Eva as a model.
Irina Ionesco was born in Paris in 1930. Since her first solo exhibition at the Nikon Gallery in 1974, Irina’s visionary work has been featured in fashion magazines and photography books printed around the world. Her pictures are in the permanent collections of the Tucson Museum of Art, the Bates Museum of Art and the Hood Museum of Art (Dartmouth). They have also been exhibited at art museums in France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.
“Ange” by photographer Irina Ionesco, from her portfolio “Elle-Même,” which is a part of The Collection.
The Michael Aaron Gallagher Fine Art Collection contains two of Irina’s rare photography portfolios, Liliacées Langoureuses aux Parfums d’Arabie, a portfolio of 25 photogravures from 1974 and Elle-Même a collection of 36 duotone photographs printed in 1996 (1 of 120), as well as Irina’s photography book Temple Aux Miroirs (Temple of Mirrors). The Collection also includes a limited edition (1 of 5) silver gelatin print of her daughter Eva (signed by the artist), a photo of Eva with a Romanian model (signed by the artist), a signed photo of Eva and other models at the Mucha Palace in Prague, and three black and white photographs of Eva bearing a stamp from the studio of artist Corneille Guillaume Beverloo, who was Irina’s longtime partner and the person who gave Irina her first professional camera.
“My Little Princess,” directed by Eva Ionesco and starring Isabelle Huppert and Anamaria Vartolomei.
Ionesco’s extraordinary work is characterized as dark and often somber, with rich black tones and areas of high contrast. Yet, her creative vision for composing a scene and the resulting moody images she created are worthy of the highest praise. Though some art critics have dismissed her images as “trashy” and “distasteful,” her pictures reveal a fierce dedication to her craft and a unique and original perspective of the world that is authentic and unteachable.
In her artist statement, she described what inspired her work. “Decadent poetry, symbolist paintings, Hollywood films, Greek tragedies, kitsch sublimated or the sublime consecrated,” Ionesco wrote. “I like artificial paradises, the magic of false luxury, that which one invents, which one creates through the play of multiple imaginary looking glasses. Thus, I have been baptized ‘The Rag Queen,’ maker of good and bad adventures. In my imaginary caravan, there is a cupboard full of decorations, tissues, trinkets, feathers and birds, lace and silk fragments of yore, found through countless [bargaining] in the flea markets of Paris, London or New York; objects precious and illusory, which, reinvented, become the supreme luxuries of a Thousand and One Nights.”
“Eva aux miroirs” by photographer Irina Ionesco, from her 1996 portfolio “Elle-Même,” which is included in The Collection.
Though times have changed since the height of her career, Irina Ionesco’s photography remains underappreciated, yet no less controversial, in the art market. Still, there is no questioning the profound impact her daughter had on her overall success during her peak as a photographer.
As a model and artist’s muse, actress Eva Ionesco was as good as any other high fashion model of her day. Making her acting debut in the Roman Polanski film “The Tenant,” Eva continued to bring attention to her mother’s work. She arguably propelled her mother’s success to the point where many people questioned whether Irina was exploiting her daughter. This topic was explored in the heartbreaking, poignant French film “My Little Princess,” starring Isabelle Huppert and Anamaria Vartolomei, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie was superbly and artfully directed by Eva, based on the turbulent relationship she had with her mother. It is doubtful that anyone else could have told the story better.
Eva Ionesco, gelatin silver print by photographer Irina Ionesco.
Sadly, the family’s personal battles have long detracted from Irina’s extraordinary talent, her personal reputation and her legacy in the world of contemporary photography.
On July 25, 2022 photographer Irina Ionesco passed away at the age of 92. In a telephone interview with the French media publication Libération, her daughter Eva said, “You cannot forgive someone who has hurt you so much. Forgiveness is difficult. But we can talk to people. I was able to chat with her before she died.”
“I would like people to remember that my mother was also a great photographer, that she always worked in an inventive and artisanal way,” Eva said.
In time, Irina’s family will hopefully be able to find healing and forgiveness, and someday celebrate the achievements she did make in the world of photography by championing her remaining work for the lasting contributions she made in the world of art and fashion. In the end, great art outlives the burdens of its creation, no matter how onerous they may be.
To view more original works in The Michael Aaron Gallagher Fine Art Collection click here. For information about works that have been donated to the collection click here.