Richard Avedon - Photographs London Thursday, November 21, 2024 | Phillips
  • “I believe that you’ve got to love your work so much that it is all you want to do.”
    —Richard Avedon
    Assembled in conjunction with his landmark 1978 retrospective at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Avedon/Paris is a celebration of Richard Avedon’s early career in fashion photography. Hired as a staff photographer for Harper’s Bazaar in 1945, Avedon continued to work for the publication for the next 20 years before joining Vogue in 1966. The eleven photographs included in this portfolio, all taken in Paris between 1947 and 1957, highlight this influential first phase of his prolific output, showcasing the effortless glamour and dynamic playfulness that would become hallmarks of his unrivalled 60-year career. Here, Avedon rejects the traditional studio backdrop to photograph his famous muses such as Dorian Leigh, Sunny Harnett and Marlene Dietrich on location and in motion, conveying their elegance and joie de vivre through varied settings. This groundbreaking cinematic approach captures the freedom, excitement and energy of 1950s ‘New Look’ fashion in the post-war era as France was striving to reclaim its cultural capital.

     

    Titles: Dorian Leigh, Schiaparelli rhinestones, Pré-Catelan, Paris, August, 1949; Suzy Parker, Evening dress by Lanvin-Castillo, Café des Beaux Arts, Paris, August, 1956; Marlene Dietrich, Turban by Dior, The Ritz, Paris, August, 1955; Dorian Leigh, Evening dress by Piguet, Helena Rubeinstein apartment, Île St.-Louis, Paris, August, 1949; Dorian Leigh, Coat by Dior, Avenue Montaigne, Paris, August, 1949; Elise Daniels, Turban by Paulette, Pré-Catelan, Paris, August, 1948; Elise Daniels with street performers, Suit by Balenciaga, Le Marais, Paris, August, 1948; Sunny Hartnett, Evening dress by Grès, Casino, Le Touquet, August, 1954; Carmen (Homage to Munkacsi), Coat by Cardin, Place François-Premier, Paris, August, 1957; Suzy Parker and Robin Tattersall, Evening dress by Griffe, Folies-Bergère, Paris, August, 1957; Renée, The New Look of Dior, Place de la Concorde, Paris, August, 1947

    • Provenance

      Sotheby's, New York, Photographs, 5 October 1995, lot 451
      Phillips, New York, Photographs, 4 April 2017, lot 291

    • Literature

      Fraenkel Gallery, Richard Avedon: Made in France, n.p.
      Shanahan, Evidence 1944-1994: Richard Avedon, pp. 38, 48, 50-51, 129, 135

    • Artist Biography

      Richard Avedon

      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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PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION

36

Avedon/Paris

New York: Self-published, 1978. Eleven gelatin silver prints, printed on the occasion of the retrospective exhibition, Avedon: Photographs 1947-1977 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 13 September - 5 November 1978.
Each approximately 36.2 x 45.5 cm (14 1/4 x 17 7/8 in.) or the reverse.
Each signed, numbered 2/75 in pencil, title, date, portfolio and copyright credit reproduction limitation stamps on the verso. Each within individual paper folios numbered sequentially 1-11 in pencil. Colophon signed, numbered 2/75 in pencil. Title page. Enclosed within a tan linen clamshell portfolio case with red embossed facsimile signature. Number 2 from an edition of 75.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
£120,000 - 180,000 

Sold for £177,800

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Photographs

London Auction 21 November 2024