Avedon, Richard

Related Category: Photography: Biographies

1923–2004, American photographer, b. New York City. Son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, he studied philosophy at Columbia Univ., served in the photographic section of the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II, and then studied photography at the New School. As a magazine staff photographer for Harper's Bazaar (1945–65) and Vogue (1966–90), Avedon redefined fashion photography as an art form in which realism mixed with fantasy, and he also became known for his arresting celebrity pictures. Although he originally used out-of-door settings with models in motion, his later work, predominantly consisting of studio portraits set against a plain white background, is stark and known for its uncompromising realism. Mainly black-and-white, these powerful images of the famous and the unknown gain impact from the larger-than-life format in which they are often printed. New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibited his work in 1978 and 2002, and he had several other museum shows. His books include Nothing Personal (1964), Portraits (1976), In the American West (1985), An Autobiography (1993), and Made in France (2001). Avedon was staff photographer for The New Yorker from 1992 until his death.