Bert Stern (1929 - 2013) Son of Jewish immigrants was raised in Brooklyn N.Y. His first work was for Look Magazine, and later became Art director of Mayfair magazine. He learned how to develop film and started taking his own photographs. In 1951, he was assigned to the photographic department in Japan for the US Army. His first professional assignment was for a Smirnoff Vodka advertisement. By the late 1970's Stern returned to the U.S. based in New York and continued to shoot the most famous models, musicians and actors throughout the 1980's and 1990's including Madonna and Kate Moss. Bert Stern was the subject of the 2010 documentary "Bert Stern: Original Madman " directed by his secret wife, Shannah Laumeister.
