Richard Avedon was an American photographer whose works are greatly revered up till this day. He was well-renowned for his efforts in fashion photography and for his minimalist approach to portraits. His initial foray into photography was with Merchant Marines, where his major work involved taking identification pictures. From there, he branched out into fashion, shooting for the illustrious Harper's Bazaar and Vogue magazine. He was an expert in extracting emotion and mobility from the models he shot, a rarity in the world of still fashion photography.
Profile
On the 15th of May, 1923, Anna and Jacob Israel Avedon of New York City were blessed with a baby boy, whom they christened, Richard Avedon. Avedon received his education at DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City. After completing his graduation, he joined the “Columbia University” to specialize in philosophy and poetry. But, after just a year he left the university to be a part of the United States Merchant Marines during World War II. In 1944, Richard Avedon joined the New School for Social Research in New York City to hone his talent as a photographer under the legendary Alexey Brodovitch, who was then art director of “Harper's Bazaar”. Right through the latter half of the 1940s and the initial years of the 1950s, he became famous for producing stylish and sophisticated black-and-white pictures highlighting the latest trends of those days in realistic scenarios such as Paris's captivating cafes, cabarets and streetcars.
- Let's have a peek into some of his most famous photographs
- Some of Richard Avedon's legendary photo-shoots have gone down in history as benchmarks for other photographers to derive inspiration from. Let's take a peek into some of his most famous accomplishments.
- The year was 1955 when Avedon decided to create history by staging a fashion photo - shoot at a circus. The shoot was labeled as “Dovima with Elephants” and it featured the top model of those days, Dovima, attired in a black Dior evening gown with a long silky white sash, standing gracefully amidst two elephants. Avedon had asked her to elegantly arch her back while catching the trunk of one elephant and approaching the other one lovingly. Up to this day, the photograph is regarded as a landmark in fashion history.
- He was famous for encapsulating the humaneness and vulnerability together in huge black-and-white portraits of powerful personalities such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles.
- From the 1960s, he even gained popularity for his political portraits of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, Julia Bond, Alabama Governor George Wallace, and others who were part of political rallies.
- He presented a collection of portraits on the horrors of the Vietnam War in 1969, featuring the Chicago Seven, American soldiers and Vietnamese napalm victims.
- His first photography book was published in 1959, titled “Observations”, with passages by none other than Truman Capote.6. His second photography book was published in 1964, featuring an essay from his childhood friend turned writer, James Baldwin.
- Richard's photographs featuring his mortally sick father were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1974.
- A nostalgic collection of his works, titled “Richard Avedon: Photographs 1947-1977”, were displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before the collection commenced a global sojourn of internationally renowned museums.
- Sadly, his final project for The New Yorker called “Democracy”, which included portraits of political figures such as Karl Rove and John Kerry, besides regular people who actively partook in political and social causes, remained incomplete.
Richard Avedon will always be fondly remembered as one of the best photographers of the 20th century. He took photography to unprecedented realms with his dreamlike and controversial fashion shoots, along with striking portraits that succeeded in showcasing the depths of the souls of some of the world's most influential personalities. In fact, such was his impact that famous Hollywood actor Fred Astaire portrayed a role based on his life in the 1957 film, “Funny Face”. Truly, if there was anybody who exemplified the adage: “A picture speaks a thousand words”, it was Richard Avedon. Courtesy: richardavedon.com