In 1959, Irving Penn photographed Italian actress Sophia Loren for the 1 January 1960 issue of Vogue, appearing alongside the article “People Are Talking About. . .”
Three years prior, Loren had signed a five-movie deal with Paramount Pictures which launched her into the international spotlight as a bombshell sex symbol. But her role in 1960’s Two Women, for which she became the first Italian to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, would make her one of the leading stars of the decade. Penn’s portrait, taken on the cusp of her breakout role, became the harbinger of a new year, new decade and a new stage of her illustrious career.
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Vogue, 1 January 1960 Provenance
Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York
Literature
Vogue, "People are talking about . . .," 1 January 1960, p. 110
Knopf, Irving Penn: Passage, p. 129Artist Biography
Irving Penn
American • 1917 - 2009
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.
PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION
207
Sophia Loren, New York
1959
Platinum palladium print, printed 1970.
22 x 15 5/8 in. (55.9 x 39.7 cm)
Signed, titled, dated, annotated, numbered 1/6 in ink and pencil, credit, and Condé Nast copyright credit reproduction limitation stamps on the reverse of the aluminum flush-mount.
Estimate
$30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $31,750
Sarah Krueger
Head of Department, Photographs
skrueger@phillips.com
Vanessa Hallett
Worldwide Head of Photographs and Chairwoman, Americas
vhallett@phillips.com
Photographs
New York Auction 9 October 2024
325
This lot is no longer available.
354
This lot is no longer available.
