With family ties to the popular ice cream chain, Baskin-Robins, Edie Baskin has left her own creative fingerprint. An American photographer and art director, Baskin was the resident photographer for the premiere of Saturday Night Live in 1975 until 1999. And with her hand-colored portraits showcasing some of the biggest names in comedy, music, film, and television, Baskin’s work became a lasting part of SNL’s visual identity.

In a recent interview with PhotoBook, Baskin speaks about the historical weight of the images that she was creating. “I’m not sure I ever fully understood it until recently,” Baskin recalls. “At the time, I was simply moving along with the moment.”

These richly-hued portraits captured the personalities of stars such as Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Ray Charles, Will Ferrell, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Shelley Duvall, Burt Reynolds, and Carrie Fisher. Baskin’s newly released book, Live From My Studio: The Art of Edie Baskin, is 200 pages of meticulously hand-painted prints that tell the living history of the performers, personalities, and creative energy that inspired 50 years of American pop culture.

Edie, you were there from the very first episode of Saturday Night Live. What did that early energy feel like, before anyone knew what the show would become?
It felt fun and exciting, and I was simply happy to have a job and to be paid for doing what I loved, which was photography.

Your hand-colored portraits became a defining part of SNL’s visual identity. With New York in the ’70s and ’80s feeling so raw and experimental, how did the energy of the city influence the way you colored and shaped those images?
Living in New York City itself gave me energy—being part of the city and immersed in its chaos was incredibly energizing. Because the title sequence focused on New York City, the energy of the city was inherently part of the work.

Your signature technique—shooting in black and white and hand-coloring each print—was unconventional, especially for television photography. What drew you to that process?
I had gone on a cross-country trip with a friend, and one of my stops was Las Vegas, where I became enamored with the neon lights. When I returned, I painted the neon lights into the photographs I had taken, and I loved how they turned out. I was doing it entirely on my own, but when I showed the photographs to Lorne, he asked if I could do for New York what I had done for Las Vegas—capture the movement and energy of the city.

In an era of constant reinvention, you remained a rare artist who shaped icons without ever commercializing yourself. Was that a conscious choice, or simply how you approached your work?
It was a conscious choice.

You’re the daughter of Shirley Robbins and Burt Baskin, yet you forged a path entirely your own. How did that background shape your independence as an artist?
My mother was an artist herself, so I grew up surrounded by art. My father taught me photography, so in many ways it was simply part of my life and what I grew up with.

If you were starting today, in an era of instant images and social media, how do you think your approach might differ—or stay the same?
It’s an odd question, because I’m not working now and I never worked during that era, so I’m really not sure how my approach might differ.

Live From My Studio: The Art of Edie Baskin is your first book. What do you hope readers take away from this collection?
I hope readers take away a sense of what experimenting with photography was like before technology, and how much fun I was having doing work that I loved.

What was it like revisiting decades of work for the book, and how did it change how you see your younger self as an artist?
The book is actually only a sample of the first five years of my work, and revisiting it makes me feel proud of myself.

Now that your work is being reintroduced to a new generation through this book, how do you see your artistic journey continuing?
I’m excited to introduce my work to a younger generation and to see how it affects them.

Talent: Edie Baskin
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Brya Sheridan, Assistant to Editor-in-Chief, PhotoBook Magazine

Edie Baskin: The Woman Who Gave SNL Its Color