Melanie Tinnelly collection of photographs of or by Bill Cunningham and Toni "Suzette" Cimino
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Abstract
The Melanie Tinnelly collection primarily includes photographs taken by fashion journalist and photographer Bill Cunningham. The photographs principally center on a close friend of Cunningham's, floral designer Toni Cimino, known as Suzette, sometimes with others. Street scenes, interiors, celebratory events, and social settings make up most of the backdrop of the photographs. Cimino and Cunningham were both residents of the studio apartments above Carnegie Hall and these form the backdrop of some of the photographs.The collection also includes work by other photographers, not all identified, principally of Bill Cunningham, Toni Cimino, and others.
Biographical/Historical Note
Toni "Suzette" Cimino was a floral designer whose clients included the restaurant Le Cirque, which appears in various photographs of this collection. Cimino lived in the studio apartments that existed, until 2010, above Carnegie Hall. Among the other artists living in these apartments was Bill Cunningham, a fashion photographer for the New York Times from 1978 until his death in 2016. Cunningham and Cimino were close friends and she was a frequent subject of his photographs, predominantly so in this collection. Cunningham's involvement with the fashion world extended back at least to the 1950s and to his career as a fashion designer, particularly of women's hats. By the early 1960s, his focus had shifted from designing to writing and to photography. Originally from Boston, he arrived to stay in New York City and the Carnegie Hall apartments in the early 1950s. Among the visitors to Cimino's apartment was her young niece, Melanie Tinnelly, the future donor of this collection to N-YHS, who met Bill Cunningham there and remained close to him and her Aunt Toni for the rest of their lives.
Sources: New York Times obituary of Bill Cunningham on June 25, 2016; Wikipedia entry for Cunningham; Cunningham's Times article "Bill on Bill" of October 27, 2002; and a blog entry by Tinnelly reminiscing about Cimino and Cunningham on aleteia.org.
Arrangement Note
The collection is arranged by photographer, with Bill Cunningham's first, followed by those of Melanie Tinnelly, and then others. Within Cunningham's photographs, the arrangement is by format of image (black/white, color, etc.) and chronological.
Scope and Contents Note
The Melanie Tinnelly collection primarily includes photographs taken by fashion journalist and photographer Bill Cunningham. The photographs principally center on a close friend of Cunningham's, Toni Cimino, known as Suzette. The photographs feature Suzette on the streets of New York City, by brownstones, in Christmas-themed holiday markets, in the snow, at a flower market, and the like. Cimino commonly appears alone in the photographs, but also with other people. A few of the photographs are captioned as having been taken in the apartments above Carnegie Hall where Cimino, Cunningham, the photographer Editta Sherman, and others lived. Most of the collection includes Cimino in the images and so her presence is not noted at the folder level notes below; to the extent other identified people are found in the folder, that is noted.
In addition to the photographs of Cimino, but also sometimes overlapping, are Cunningham's photographs of interior spaces at Le Cirque restaurant and elsewhere, often with flowers or floral arrangements as prominent features. Most of the photographs are black and white, but there are many in color also.
Many of the photographs are dated and have identifying locations or identifications of the other people in the image. Several photographs are captioned or inscribed by Cunningham, at times as profound expressions of affection and friendship sent with the photograph to Cimino. There are a small number of greeting cards from Cunningham that hold similar expressions of fondness.
In addition to Cunningham's photographs, there are several by other photographers, including Tinnelly. Tinnelly's photographs, printed on oversize paper, are of Cunningham and/or Cimino from late in their lives. A set of three photographs of Cimino are by Antonio Lopez. One notable artwork in the collection is a collage that includes a photograph of Cimino taken by Cunningham with a border drawing by Ruben Toledo. Nonetheless, most of the photographs in the collection not taken by Cunningham are by unidentified photographers. These photographs include snapshots of Cunningham and others at various celebratory events and social settings, ranging from the 1970s to the 2000s.
Subjects
Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation Note
The collection should be cited as: Melanie Tinnelly collection of photographs of or by Bill Cunningham and Toni "Suzette" Cimino, PR 329, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Credit lines: Donated by Melanie Tinnelly in memory of Toni L. Cimino, known as Suzette. The collage consisting of a photograph by Bill Cunningham with a border drawing by Ruben Toledo must acknowledge the artwork was drawn by Mr. Toledo.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition Note
Donated by Melanie Tinnelly in memory of Toni L. Cimino, known as Suzette.
About this Guide
Processing Information Note
The collection was processed in June 2017 by archivist Larry Weimer.