"Photography has always reminded me of the second child... trying to prove itself. The fact that it wasn’t really considered an art... that it was considered a craft... has trapped almost every serious photographer." – Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004)
Richard Avedon, was a New York-born photographer who specialized in black & white fashion photography and portraiture. Unlike other master photographers, Avedon never completed his education. He ditched formal academics at the age of 17 to join the photographic section of the US Merchant Marine. He served as Photographer’s Mate Second Class and, for a couple of years, took identification potraits of the crew using his Rolleiflex twin lens reflex camera (a present from his father). From time to time, he also photographed shipwrecks.
He developed his technical knowledge on photography and, soon, he set up his own studio and freelanced for different magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue – where he almost instantly became one of its eminent photographers. He developed his own retrospective style and one of the striking characteristics of his works was movement.
Richard Avedon’s Self-Portrait in Triptych via imagesetc
Avedon continually excelled in fashion photography and established his signature aesthetic as his reputation evolved; he presented faces, poses, and products with clarity and class. According to him, “My photographs don’t go below the surface. I have great faith in surfaces. A good one is full of clues. But whenever I become absorbed in the beauty of a face, in the excellence of a single feature, I feel I’ve lost what’s really there…been seduced by someone else’s standard of beauty or by the sitter’s own idea of the best in him.”
His glorious photographs resulted from the white confinement of his studio, where he meticulously controlled and maintained the lighting he desired for every painstaking sitting he conducted with his models. Below are a few of his black-and-white-yet-alluring-and-vivid masterpieces which encapsulated the world of fashion photography until this modern age. Now, swoon, ladies and gentlemen!
Elise Daniels, Turban by Paulette, Pré-Catelan, Paris, August 1948 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Shoe by Perugia, Place du Trocadéro, Paris, August 1948 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Dorian Leigh, Dress by Piguet, Helena Rubenstein’s apartment, Ile St. Louis, Paris, August 1949 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Dovima with Elephants, Dress by Dior, Cirque d’Hiver, Paris, August 1955 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Suzy Parker with Robin Tattersall, Dress by Dior, Place de la Concorde, Paris, August 1956 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Audrey Hepburn, With Art Buchwald with Simone, Frederick Eberstadt, Barbara Mullen and Dr. Regina, Maxim’s, Paris, July 1959 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Antonella Agnelli, Hair by Kenneth, New York, January 1961 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Naty Abascal and Ana-Maria Abascal with Helio Guerreiro, bathing suit by Brigance, Ibiza, Spain, September 1964 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Audrey Hepburn, New York, January 1967 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Veruschka, Dress by Kimberly, New York, January 1967 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Penelope Tree, Dress by Cardin, Paris, January 1968 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Penelope Tree, Suit by Ungaro, Paris, January 1968 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Stephanie Seymour, Dress and shoes by Chanel, Paris, September 1994 © Richard Avedon via TIME
Which of these Richard Avedon photographs strike your liking the most? What other fashion and portraiture photographers would you like to be written about? Read more about the Best of the Best Series.
This week, Lomography Magazine is dedicated to fashion! Read our editorial articles related to fashion and submit your own Requested Posts for September 2011!
23 comments
marant69
Absolutely Dovima with Elephants a 1.2 million dollars shot! ;)
buckshot
The shot with the Abascal sisters is my favourite - beautiful, sexy and casually elegant.
j_robert
avedon's portraits are so inspiring. i am and always be in awe of his photography
lereile
I fell in love with avedon's photography when i saw an exhibition about his workin class portraits, i would like to see some of them again, i'll try to look for them!
lereile
-->richard avedon: in the american west’.
this exhibition showed, for the first time in europe, the full
sequence of 124 portraits of the working class people of the
american west, which avedon took between 1979 and 1984,<-- i was talking about these ones
http://www.richardav(…)=0&at=0 here it is the link to the portfolio of the series, enjoy!
wonderdude
Love the quote at the beginning of the article!
emperornorton
Love Avedon, especially his nonfashion series.
When are you going to do Edward Weston and his sexy bell peppers?
panelomo
astig.
b0rn2b1ush
wonderful stuff! thanks, @lereile, for sharing the link. reminded me of his dance series, which is just awesome.
hughh
The last picture is amazing. Simply perfect
aprilia
Pure elegance. My most favorite is the shot with roller skates but...all of them is beautiful!
avocado-in-a-world-of-cucumbers
Audrey Hepburn, New York, January 1967 - absolutely stunning and very original. what a photographer!
ecsantana
I can say a life was worth if when we die our existance and works keep being celebrated with words like the above...
cool article.
extraordinary pictures...
maybe one day I'll get close to that skills...
hope I live long enough...
;)
arabrab
I cannot pick one favorite, i am seriously in love with the work from Richard Avedon. He is my big inspiration.
guanatos
he's one of the best of all time!!!
bernardjoy-dones
very inspiring.. =)
alexluyckx
feelux
Best of the Best! Really inspiring!
mariaratfingers
absolute genius!! he's up on a pedestal for me. and i agree with @emperornorton, i love his nonfashion works the most too. one of my own personal favorites is this one: http://www.richardav(…)=0&at=0 portrait of genius writer and filmmaker Marguerite Duras. this one as well: http://www.richardav(…)=0&at=0 Marc Chagall. all of his portraits are just so expressive and intense. please check them all out at his site. you'll be blown away.
realisticdreamer
Ugh, these photos slay me...They're really beautiful.
ncsphotography
pangmark
Actually his self portraits are my favourites
gmarnn
respect...