30 Glamorous Photos of American Model Elise Daniels in the 1940s

Elise Daniels (1923–1997) was born in Illinois, she spent her youth in privileged Palm Beach. After a brief marriage at 16, she followed her older sister to New York, and whilst there paid a visit to an old family friend. That friend turned out to be John Robert Powers, who started her on a run of striking success. But there was success — and then there was Dick Avedon.

The pictures they created blended his flair for atmosphere and her nuanced poise. In 1950, Avedon declared her the most important model he’d worked with: “Elise’s natural sense of movement, sense of elegance, sense of line, sense of a photograph, was directly responsible for the most recent change in my fashion pictures.”

Daniels spent her last years on the move, running towards fresh starts (or away from messy endings). Her last home was a council estate north of London; when her sister visited, she found a gorgeous flowerbed outside Daniels’ home — the only patch of color on the estate. “That was Elise,” she sighed. “This delicate, exquisite creature, who created beauty wherever she walked.”

Take a look at these glamorous photos to see fashion portraits of American model Elise Daniels in the 1940s.

Elise Daniels in short black shorts and Cholo coat very square and long-sleeved with scalloped yoke and hem by Carolyn Schnurer, photo by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Harper's Bazaar, May 1945

Elise Daniels is wearing chocolate brown Forstmann wool curve-button suit with nutria lined hood from Hattie Carnegie, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, September 1, 1946

Elise Daniels in a pinch-waisted jacket rippling longer in back of blonde velveteen bibbed in mink over a chocolate wool skirt by Kraus, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, September 1, 1947

Elise Daniels in black Russian broadtail cape framed in mink by Esther Dorothy, black velvet hat with a filter of veiling at Bonwit Teller, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, August 1, 1947

Elise Daniels in brass-buttoned fitted jacket over dress with pleated skirt and cap sleeves, photo by Frances McLaughlin, Vogue, March 1, 1947

Elise Daniels in coat of black Persian lamb on Alaska sealskin for bold contast in texture and color by Julio Laffitte, accordian beret by Tatiana du Plessix, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, August 1, 1947

Elise Daniels in Juilliard's crimson melton coat with small black Persian lamb collar at Bergdorf Goodman, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, November 1, 1947

Elise Daniels in velvet sheath, the bodice of overlapping petals and the skirt short and quick below flying paniers by Christian Dior, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, November 1948

Elise Daniels in black velvet shoulderless dress with the skirt twisted to the back, worn with black cartwheel hat, by Christian Dior, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, October 1948

Elise Daniels in fitted and full-skirted coat of bois-de-rose wool with baum marten collar and patent leather belt by Christian Dior, photo by Richard Avedon, Paris, Harper's Bazaar, October 1948

Elise Daniels in gown of white Swiss organdy appliquéd with fluttering leaves and flowers, and tiny bodice of heavy pink satin that unfolds like a flower by Hattie Carnegie, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, March 1948

Elise Daniels in gray flannel skirt, mustard doeskin vest, brass-buttoned shirt and black velvet cap, by Castillo for Elizabeth Arden, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, November 1948

Elise Daniels in marvelous white chiffon, pleated straight down and bound close over the bosom with a scarf that floats or wraps as you wish, by Christian Dior, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, December 1948

Elise Daniels in pale cheese-colored Miron worsted flannel dress by Claire McCardell, amber-colored beads by Castlecliff, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, February 1948

Elise Daniels in stiff silk taffeta with natural shoulder, defined bodice, narrow waist and voluminous skirt by Omar Kiam for Ben Reig, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, March 1948

Elise Daniels in strapless white organdy dress embroidered with red dots and red grosgrain ribbon around the waist, comes with pleated bertha that can be slipped over the head, by Ceil Chapman, Harper's Bazaar, June 1948

Elise Daniels in Swiss organdyblue butterfly dress with white embroidered coins scattered all over by Traina-Norell, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, February 1948

Elise Daniels wearing turban by Paulette, photo by Avedon, Rue Francois-Premier, Paris, August 1948

Elise Daniels in Aleutian EMBA mink finger-tip jacket by Ritter Bros., suède hat by Mr. John, sapphire earrings by Van Cleef & Arpels, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, July 1949

Elise Daniels in beautiful floor-length evening dress of pure silk taffeta in changing shades of faded rose, a Jay Thorpe Original, jewelry by Van Cleef & Arpels, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, April 1949

Elise Daniels in black and white wool tweed suit fitted within an inch of its life worn with side-set bowler of felt and velvet, all by Hattie Carnegie, photo by Irving Penn, Vogue, September 1, 1949

Elise Daniels in floating evening dress of white rayon chiffon with a haze of blue dots over a pink slip from Bendel's Young-Timers, photo by Irving Penn, Vogue, June 1949

Elise Daniels in flyaway jacket, front-belted in black and white worsted worn with straight black wool skirt by Maurice Rentner, veiled straw roller by Irene, photo by Frances McLaughlin, Vogue, February 15, 1949

Elise Daniels in late-day suit of pale gray Jacquard satin with a deep carved fichu by Irene, Albouy hat copy of pink satin and veil at Bergdorf Goodman, photo by Horst P. Horst, Vogue, April 1, 1949

Elise Daniels in marvelous white chiffon, pleated straight down and bound close over the bosom with a scarf that floats or wraps as you wish, by Christian Dior, phot by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar UK, April 1949

Elise Daniels in pale blue and white shepherd's check worsted suit by Vernon, worn with gray felt hat, photo by Frances McLaughlin, Vogue, February 15, 1949

Elise Daniels in ribbed silk taffeta dress-coat with a melon-shaped skirt and big collar by Anthony Blotta, worn with pale blue slanted bicorn by John Frederics, photo by Frances McLaughlin, Vogue, March 15, 1949

Elise Daniels in sheer wool tweed suit with artful draped panel by Irene, at Hudson's Detroit, Vogue, August 15, 1949

Elise Daniels in short above-the-waist jacket flaring over a slim dress of Miron worsted by Larry Aldrich, made-to-order hat at Bergdorf Goodman, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, March 1, 1949

Elise Daniels in white halter-neck draped chiffon gown with an inset of fur-printed crêpe by Jack Herzog, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, February 1949