During the first half of the 20th century, the artistic life of America underwent a variety of profound changes. Lisette Model (1906-1983), with her stark realism and search for truth through photography, was at the forefront of these changes.

Lisette Model (nee Seyberg), was born into a wealthy family in Vienna, Austria on November 10, 1906. Her Jewish father and French Catholic mother raised her, her older brother, and her younger sister in the gentility of upper-class Austrian society. At the insistence of her mother, Model was raised in the Catholic faith. Fluent in three languages, she traveled extensively and received her formal education through private tutors.

As a child, Model was sexually molested by her father, a medical doctor and military man. While it was a situation Model did not dwell on, close acquaintances would verify her recollections of this experience. He father died of cancer in 1924. By this...