“I never liked being photographed. I just happened to be good at it.”
—Jean Shrimpton As a leading photographer of the 20th century, Richard Avedon was a master of creating photographs that perfectly captured the spirit of his subject. Be it his enigmatic portrait of Marilyn Monroe, the remarkable series on his father Jacob Israel Avedon, or the daring editorial pictures highlighting the fashion of the era, he constantly strove to create fresh and innovative imagery.
Avedon photographed Jean Shrimpton on numerous occasions throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and she continuously proved to be an ideal model for the most futuristic fashion and hairstyles of the time. Jean Shrimpton, Evening Dress by Cardin, Paris studio, January, 1970 is the perfect synthesis of the avant-garde fashion of Cardin, the whimsical freedom of Shrimpton, and Avedon’s brilliant ability to capture the essence of the subject before him.
