The Photographer's Cat

Gjon Mili is one of my favourite photographers, and I've shared photographs of his on many occasions (A general selection, stroboscopic photographs, filming of West Side Story, and 1940s nightlife in Paris). He did a lot of shooting in his own studio where he could control the lighting, of which he was a master. 

Also at his studio was his gorgeous black cat, Blackie. Blackie, it seems, never hesitated to make friends with Mili's sitters, and Mili in turn didn't hesitate to use Blackie in his shots. He also used Blackie as a sitter himself, resulting in the kind of gorgeously lit black-on-black shots only Mili could create. 

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie and nightclub entertainer Maune de Revel, 1946. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie joining a model in a bridal fashion shoot, 1945. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie sitting on a piano as opera star Jennie Tourel plays and sings, 1952. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie regarding a portrait of himself made by artist Saul Steinberg during a session at Mili's studio, 1947. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie and Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1945. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie attacking the foot of a young acrobat, 1943. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie plays with the feathers on the hat of dancer Katherine Dunham, 1943. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie sitting on a table being held in a man's teeth, 1943. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie walking amongst the cups and plates left over from an all-night jam session at the studio, 1943. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

A leap. 1943. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

1943. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

A grumpy cat. 1943. Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

Blackie playing with a toy mouse, 1943. (The following photographs are also all from 1943).  Source

Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Gjon Mili, LIFE © Time Inc.

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