Sell at Auction with Phillips
We are inviting consignment submissions for Irving Penn
Irving Penn
American • 1917-2009
Biography
Arresting portraits, exquisite flowers, luscious food and glamorous models populate Irving Penn's meticulously rendered, masterful prints. Penn employed the elegant simplicity of a gray or white backdrop to pose his subjects, be it a model in the latest Parisian fashion, a famous subject or veiled women in Morocco.
Irving Penn's distinct aesthetic transformed twentieth-century elegance and style, with each brilliant composition beautifully articulating his subjects. Working across several photographic mediums, Penn was a master printmaker. Regardless of the subject, each and every piece is rendered with supreme beauty.
Insights
Irving Penn began shooting for Vogue in the mid-1940s and shot over 150 covers for the magazine over the course of his career.
Penn was a master of both modern and contemporary photographic techniques, using a variety of cameras and printing technologies to create his impeccable works.
Penn's 1972 Cigarette series was his first series where all of the prints were platinum palladium.
"I can get obsessed by anything if I look at it long enough. That's the curse of being a photographer."