Clifford Coffin
Clifford Coffin (1913–1972) was an American fashion photographer, particularly for Vogue magazine, and a "wild and eccentric bohemian". He has also been called "the greatest of Vogue magazine's 'lost' photographers", and an "outspoken homosexual with a heroic appetite for self-destruction, his bad behaviour was legendary". The Varnished Truth – Photographs from Vogue 1945 to 1955 was an exhibition in London's National Portrait Gallery for three months in 1997.
Clifford Coffin
- Born
- 1913 · Salem.
- Died
- 1972 · Pasadena.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- photographer
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Clifford Coffin (1913–1972) was an American fashion photographer, particularly for Vogue magazine, and a "wild and eccentric bohemian". He has also been called "the greatest of Vogue magazine's 'lost' photographers", and an "outspoken homosexual with a heroic appetite for self-destruction, his bad behaviour was legendary". The Varnished Truth – Photographs from Vogue 1945 to 1955 was an exhibition in London's National Portrait Gallery for three months in 1997.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Clifford Coffin. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 16240980-1 · wikidata · Q1101235
In this article
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
Coffin suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction, and died of throat cancer in Pasadena, California, in 1972, aged 58.
The following is established of the heading itself.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Salem.
Birth place
Pasadena.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 16240980-1, Exhibition of the Photographic Work of Clifford Coffin (1997 : London).
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1101235: Clifford Coffin
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Veronica Horwell. Barbara Goalen. theguardian.com. The Guardian. 2002.
- 2.Modèles et mannequins. Filipacchi. 1994. 978-2-85018-341-6.
- 3.Papier glacé. Thames & Hudson. 2012. 978-2-87811-393-8.
- 4.Apparences. Éditions du Chêne. 1992. 9782851087621.
- 5.Hans-Michael Koetzle. Photographes A-Z. Taschen. 2015. 978-3836554350.
- 6.Clifford Coffin: The Varnished Truth – Photographs from Vogue 1945 to 1955 - National Portrait Gallery. National Portrait Gallery. 1997.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 16240980-1, Exhibition of the Photographic Work of Clifford Coffin (1997 : London).Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Photography
11,392 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Cliff EvansPhotographer
- Clifford Augustus HallPhotographer
- Clifford BeckPhotographer
- Clifford Brodie FrithPhotographer
- Clifford RossPhotographer
- Clifton C. EdomPhotographer
- Clifton FirthPhotographer
- Clint BaclawskiPhotographer
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Clifford Coffin?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.