MOTHER & CHILD BEAUTY: CLAIBORNE SWANSON FRANK

MOTHER AND CHILD -- CLAIBORNE SWANSON FRANK

Many aspects of the mother and child experience are universal, regardless of who they each are or what culture they hail from. It’s primal. There is a core bond, an unconditional love, a sense of selflessness that many mothers can attest to -- in fact, they have done so for millennia.

A most modern accounting of mother-child spirit is beautifully expressed in a brand new book, "Mother and Child," -- the latest body of work by author and photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank.

The book, published by Assouline, presents 70 mother-child portraits, including celebrity moms such as Delfina Blaquier Figueras, Carolina Herrera, Lauren Santo Domingo, Anne Vyalitsyna, Aerin Lauder, Nicole Trunfio,  Barbara Bush, and Patty Hansen, to name a few.

Beyond the beauty of the images, the 278-page book includes a series of questions-and-answers, in which each mother expresses her own feelings about motherhood.

“The beauty not only lies in the images themselves, but in what they represent: the unbreakable bond between a mother and a child,” renowned designer Carolina Herrera advises in the book’s foreword.

Frank, a former assistant to Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour, has spent lots of time in and around the fashion and entertainment industries. When she became pregnant with her first child, she was inspired by the young mothers she knew to explore what it means to be a mother in modern times.

She looked at the significance of everything from childbirth to naming to mothering styles. She herself was born with a particularly unique name --  Claiborne means “born of the Earth.”

The more she spoke to different mothers, the more Frank learned that every child needs a different style of mothering. She experienced this herself with her own two boys. She also observed that what all kids have in common is their need for constant love.

Frank’s mission was to take portraits of mothers and their children that captured love and joy and show how the experience of motherhood connects us all.  Here images and the mothers’ powerful stories do just that.

Being a young mother herself, Frank had to eke out time to work on the book after the kids were asleep at night. She spent many nights up past midnight editing.

Frank’s own experience with motherhood so far has taught her the power of being present in their lives as well as the power of patience. She believes, as many mothers do, that parenting helps one to evolve as a human being -- that becoming a mother has made her a better person.

She loved learning about how other mothers parent, finding it to be both interesting and insightful. It confirmed for her that the job of being a mother is the most important job a mother can ever have.

“Mother and Child” is Frank’s third book. Her first book, "American Beauty," included a collection of portraits of women in her life. Her second book of portraits was entitled, "Young Hollywood."

When she isn’t producing books, Frank works with fashion brands such as Estée Lauder, Ferragamo, Michael Kors, and Clé de Peau Beauté. She does editorial work for publications such as Vanity Fair, Town & Country, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and Architectural Digest.   

Frank lives in New York  with her husband, James, sons Hunter and Wilder, and their dog Blue.

Read more about Magnificent Mama’s in See Mother Earth Giving Birth: Michael Shainblum, The Essential Beauty of Mothers: Ivette Ivens, Happy Bird Mothers Day!, A Mother’s Loving Portraits: Robin Schwartz, Capturing the Most Magnificent Mama: Earth and Mother & Child Beauty: Claiborne Swanson Frank.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Model Alessandra Ambrosio, with daughter Anja Ambrosio Mazur and son Noah Ambrosio Mazur, from “Mother and Child” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
2. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Nicole Trunfio with her son Zion, from “Mother and Child” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
3. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Beverly Johnson and her daughter Anansa Sims, from “Mother and Child” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
4. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Luxury lingerie designer TyLynn Nguyen with Lotus, from “Mother and Child,” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
5. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Maria Dueñas Jacobs and her twins, from “Mother and Child” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
6. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Model Anne Vyalitsyna, from “Mother and Child” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
7. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank with Hunter and Wilder from “Mother and Child,” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
8. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Barbara Bush, Laura Bush, Barbara Pierce Bush, Jenna Bush Hager and daughters Mila and Poppy, from “Mother and Child” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
9. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Model Grace Gail Rodriguez with Frankie Elle from “Mother and Child,” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
10. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Wearing looks from the Resort 2018 Collection, sisters Carolina Herrera de Baez and Patricia Lansing are portrayed with their children posed intimate family moments. From “Mother and Child,” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
11. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Delfina Blaquier Figueras with her children, from “Mother and Child” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
12. Image: by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Lauren Elizabeth Johnson with François and Beau, from “Mother and Child” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.
13. Image: “Mother and Child,” book by Claiborne Swanson Frank. Courtesy of Assouline.