How A Litigious Teen Accidentally Invented Modeling
I've always been interested in taking a step back and getting a glimpse of the larger picture - - however momentary, I've found that it almost always enables me to have a better idea of where I want to take an artistic endeavor, whether it's painting, being a content creator, or being a live-streaming camgirl.
So I naturally found myself wondering: how did modeling become an industry in the first place? I feel because we've grown up in a social milieu where the concept of monetization of a person's physical appearance is so normalized, we sometimes forget the fact that this wasn't always the case.
I recently read (okay, fine, skimmed through) a book on the origins of modeling, and how it evolved from something extremely informal to the industry it is today.
Fun fact: One of the first recorded instances of a woman earning money as a result of the dissemination of her "image" (and by "image" I don't refer to merely her physical appearance, but rather, her persona) was a result of a lawsuit. A fascinating story there, but before we dive into that, it's important to understand that before the 1900s, one's image wasn't one's own. In the late 19th century, the suggestion that a model would have a right to earn money from the use of her image would have been considered laughable.
I don't mean to say that models didn't exist, but rather that even the most popular models of the day, who would be asked to sit for paintings and sketches, were paid a one-time fee for the sitting, and had no claim whatsoever on the subsequent use of the images/paintings/sketches that resulted from the sitting.
With the invention of photography in the late 1800s, many girls who worked as models in London attempted to collectively hike their fees, realizing that the mass production of their modeling photographs would lead to fewer work opportunities for them.
Photography also changed the dynamic between model and artist, because the time taken to produce an image was drastically reduced. Sitting for a painting is subjectively quite different from posing for a camera - - when sitting for a painting, I've noticed that the time taken and the long silences often allow one the necessary time to get used to and comfortable with the idea of being painted. It's different when posing for a camera, one doesn't have that buffer time - - which is probably why, if you look at late Victorian photographs, the people in them usually look bewildered, expressionless, or just plain pissed because they have no idea what they're supposed to be doing.
How else did photography change modeling? Well, for one thing, photographs became a cheap substitute for illustrations. And what happened to model earnings? What would they be paid for now? In the 19th century and prior, models were compensated for their patience, their ability to hold a pose through hours of potential discomfort, for their stamina. After photography, the model became an active participant in the work of art. It would be fair to say that photography marks the beginning of models bringing their personae, their character into the studio.
This didn't happen overnight, though. There was plenty of trouble along the way -- and that brings me to the story of Abigail Roberson and her modeling lawsuit.
Wait, Abigail who?
An 18-year-old girl who sat for a portrait in a local photographer's studio, Abigail had no idea when she granted permission for a lithograph to be made from her portrait that the image would, in turn, be sold to a Flour manufacturer and that she would unknowingly become instantly recognizable from thousands of posters and magazine advertisements to sell flour.
How did she react to this unexpected moment of celebrity? Flattered? No, far from it, she was livid. For me, and others my age, having grown up in a time when we're trained to cultivate an unceasing desire for exposure and publicity, it's hard to make sense of her anger. But society was a lot more introverted back then (this incident occurred in 1902) and Abigail was furious because modeling for advertisements was not something that "ladies of polite society did". A determined young girl, she sued the company (practically unheard of) and demanded $15000 in compensation.
Although Abigail's claim was initially dismissed, her lawsuit started a chain reaction that transformed commercial photography, fashion photography, and gave birth to the idea of modeling being more than just posing, but the distribution and use of a person's "image" - - their personality, attitude, world view, and quirks. Now, models could do much more than just passively posing for images - - their "look", and consequently, their brand, could now be bought and sold.
So what did I learn from Abigail's story? First of all, the fact that so much of what we now take for granted (well, I won't speak for everyone, but I certainly do) was hotly contested territory not so long ago. Also, the fact that we've really come a long way in a short time, and as frumpy as those Victorian women seem to me now, I have them to thank, in some small way, for all the freedom and opportunity I have today.