Born in Plainfield June 16, 1919 New Jersey, to Harry Penn and Sonia Greenberg, Irving Penn would go on to become one of America's leading fashion photographers of the 20th century and set new benchmarks in the world of fashion photography to which most other photographers' works would be gauged. His works effortlessly coalesced classic elan with moderate style, which cut across genres and generations to rapture everyone’s attention and imagination alike. In particular, his extensive assignments with the internationally-acclaimed Vogue magazine has left an indelible mark in the fashion world.
About Irving Penn
Irving Penn took up painting, drawing, and graphic arts very keenly while studying at the University of Arts in Philadelphia. Once his academic curriculum was completed, he shifted base to the Big Apple in 1938 to work as a freelance designer and illustrator. He shifted out of New York in 1940 to pursue a career in painting after working as an advertising director.
It wasn't until three years later that Penn would finally be introduced to the world of fashion. After returning to New York, a chance encounter with Russian designer Alexander Liberman led him to being offered a position as Liberman's assistant designer with Vogue magazine, and the rest as they say, is history. Initially, Mr. Penn worked on the magazine's layouts, until Liberman suggested that he should try his hand at photography. From that day on, Penn and Vogue magazine forged an unbreakable bond that would take the fashion industry by storm and give us several wonderful photographs that would remain etched in our memory for many generations.
Besides being a highly-talented and creative photographer, Irving Penn also applied his efforts in the darkroom. He was known to attempt certain innovative experiments in the darkroom such as bleaching prints and eradicating skin tones in order to make female models appear more distinct and sexually-evocative. He's also credited for founding a new technique of printing photos with platinum as an alternative to the customary method of employing silver. This innovation contributed in the realization of more realistic tones to fashion photography.
His famous works
To capture this portrait of the world-renowned writer, Truman Capote, in New York, 1948, Penn applied one of his famous stunts from the 1940s, where he placed his subject in an confined, angular area. This method he claimed, gave an austere and riveting look to the celebrities while they posed. He also went on record saying, “This confinement surprisingly seemed to comfort people. It soothed them. The walls were a surface to lean on or push against."
In 1950, Penn shot one of the foremost models of the time, Lisa Fonssagrives, in a stunning picture with a seductively flowing black gown and roses on her arm. This was Irving's very first photo taken in 1943 that appeared straight away on the cover of Vogue magazine. It portrayed a color still life of a glove, a belt, and a pocketbook. This black and white picture would again appear on the cover of the April, 1950 issue of Vogue.
One of his most loved photographs was that of legendary Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso, taken in Cannes, France, 1957. Like many of his late 1950s photos, he made took a close-up of Picasso against a barren, gray background, which reflected a profound insight into the painter's demeanor.
Personal Life
While on an assignment in 1947, Irving Penn was tasked to shoot one of the top models of the 1940s, the gorgeous Lisa Fonssagrives. Love blossomed and they married each other in 1950 at the Chelsea Register Office. Two years later, they were blesses with a son, Tom Penn, who would build a career in metal designing. Lisa Fonssagrives passed away in 1992. Irving Penn would outlive his beloved soul-mate by 15 years. He breathed his last on October 7, 2009, at a ripe old age of 92, at his residence in Manhattan.
The fashion world changed when Irving Penn graced it, and it did again when he departed. His void is too big to ever be filled, but all professional and even aspiring photographers from the fashion industry or outside of it, can always look to his works, dedication, and indefatigable spirit, for inspiration and useful artistic tips.