Paul Outerbridge was a New York advertising and fashion photographer. Born in New York, Outerbridge studied at the Art Student's League from 1915-1917, exploring illustration and stage design. He then studied with photographer Clarence H. White and painter Max Weber. Weber's work as one of the first American Cubist painters heavily influenced Outerbridge's photographic work.
Outerbridge served in WW1 as a documentation photographer. His first commercial work was published in Vogue in 1922. By 1929 he had founded and ran the largest advertising studio in Paris and was the highest paid image creator in New York. His work was published in the top magazines including Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, working in both black and white and color. He was a friendly rival to Edward Steichen and friends with Man Ray. He returned to the U.S. in 1930 where he set out to improve color photography.
He moved to California in 1943, looking to work in the film industry, a move that didn't work out. He spent the bulk of his late career as a portrait photographer and freelance writer. Outerbridge designed and photographed the cover for the November 1936 issue of PM. The cover shows the influence of cubism in his work.