Private Collection, California
Harper’s Bazaar, September 1955, p. 215
Avedon, Woman in the Mirror, p. 36
Avedon & Brodkey, Avedon Photographs, 1947-1977, back cover and pl. 159
Bailey & Harrison, Shots of Style: Great Fashion Portraits, cat. no. 7
Davis, An American Century of Photography, From Dry-Plate to Digital: The Hallmark Photographic Collection, pl. 368
Fraenkel Gallery, Richard Avedon: Made in France, n.p.
Random House, Evidence, 1944-1994: Richard Avedon, p. 53
Gee, Photography of the Fifties: An American Perspective, p. 84
Hall-Duncan, The History of Fashion Photography, p. 137
Harrison, Appearances: Fashion Photography since 1945, p. 73
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Avedon Fashion: 1944-2000, p. 137
High Museum of Art, Chorus of Light: Photographs from the Sir Elton John Collection, p. 189
Mazzola, 125 Great Moments of Harper’s Bazaar, pl. 3
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion, p. 50
American • 1923 - 2004
From the inception of Richard Avedon's career, first at Harper's Bazaar and later at Vogue, Avedon challenged the norms for editorial photography. His fashion work gained recognition for its seemingly effortless and bursting energy, while his portraits were celebrated for their succinct eloquence. "I am always stimulated by people," Avedon has said, "almost never by ideas."
Indeed, as seen in his portraits — whether of famed movie stars or everyday people — the challenge for Avedon was conveying the essence of his subjects. His iconic images were usually taken on an 8 x 10 inch camera in his studio with a plain white background and strobe lighting, creating his signature minimalist style. Avedon viewed the making and production of photographs as a performance similar to literature and drama, creating portraits that are simultaneously intensely clear, yet deeply mysterious.
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