Portfolio (1950), created and designed by Alexey Brodovitch, remains one of the most influential editorial projects of the twentieth century. Published in only three issues, it combined bold typography, expansive white space, refined grids, and a masterful integration of photography and illustration. Though short-lived, the magazine became a touchstone for generations of designers, art directors, and visual storytellers.

The restored material in this archive focuses on Portfolio’s defining features: uninterrupted double-page spreads, modernist page compositions, carefully calibrated image sequences, and collaborations with major mid-century artists. Many spreads are recreated from fully disassembled issues, allowing the original continuity of the artwork to be seen without binding shadows or distortion — a rarity in most online reproductions.

Portfolio served as the culmination of Brodovitch’s long career as art director of Harper’s Bazaar. His innovative use of photography, asymmetric layouts, and expressive typography shaped American editorial design throughout the 1930s and 1940s. This archive highlights that influence, connecting the magazine to earlier twentieth-century illustration styles, including those seen in the Anne Harriet Fish Archive, and to the broader interwar decorative arts movement visible in the NYC Art Deco Interiors Archive.

Each restored page has been reproduced with close attention to color, tone, and detail, preserving the vibrancy and sophistication of the original printings. The magazine’s use of coated and uncoated papers, textured inserts, and special production techniques — while not fully reproducible digitally — are documented wherever possible to give an accurate sense of the magazine’s physical presence.

This archive offers an essential resource for designers, scholars, students, and collectors interested in mid-century editorial design, Brodovitch’s legacy, and the visual innovations that would shape the evolution of modern magazine culture. New material and contextual essays will be added as the collection grows, expanding our understanding of this extraordinary publication.