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Sign InStephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco
By descent to the present owner
Capote, Observations, p. 72
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946-2004, p. 11
Rosenheim, Photography's Last Century: The Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee Collection, p. 50
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Richard Avedon Portraits, frontispiece
Whitney Museum of American Art, Richard Avedon: Evidence, 1944-1994, pp. 18, 71
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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