Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946–2004

by Richard Avedon (photographer), Poul Erik Tøjner (foreword), Helle Crenzien (Contributor)

The first major retrospective devoted to Avedon since his death in 2004, spanning his oeuvre from fashion photography to portraiture to reportage In August 2007 Denmark's renowned Louisiana Museum of Modern Art presented Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946–2004 , the first major retrospective devoted to Avedon's work since his death in 2004. This beautifully produced catalogue, designed by the renowned Danish graphic designer Michael Jensen, features deluxe tritone printing and varnish on premium paper. It includes 125 reproductions of Avedon's greatest work from the entire range of his oeuvre―including fashion photographs, reportage and portraits―and spans from his early Italian subjects of the 1940s to his 2004 portrait of the Icelandic pop star Björk. It also features a small number of color images, including what must be one of the most famous photographic portraits of the twentieth century, "Nastassja Kinski and the Serpent" (1981). Texts by Jeffrey Fraenkel, Judith Thurman, Geoff Dyer, Christoph Ribbat, Rune Gade and curator Helle Crenzien offer a sophisticated and thorough composite view of Avedon's career.

Genres: Photography, Art, Fashion, Nonfiction, Coffee Table Books, History, Biography

192 pages, Hardcover

First published November 28, 2007

About the author

People note fashion photography and stark portraits of Richard Avedon, an American.

Richard Avedon captured ideals of celebrity and beauty in the 20th and early 21st centuries to helped to establish a contemporary art form. Avedon developed a distinct, iconic style. While his contemporaries focused on single moments or composed formal images, his lighting and minimalist white backdrops drew the viewer to the intimate, emotive power of the expression of the subject.

Richard Avedon studied philosophy at Columbia University, New York, and served in the department of the merchant marines of the United States before studying with Alexey Brodovitch at the New School for Social Research.

From 1945, he worked and revolutionized the craft even as he honed his aesthetic to 1965. He worked in magazines from Harper's Bazaar and Vogue to Life and Look. Later, he moved into journalism and the art world. His subjects included pop stars, models, musicians, writers, artists, workers, political activists, soldiers, victims of Vietnam War, politicians, and his family.

Curator Paul Roth observes: “In an Avedon portrait, the face maps an intersection: It is a place where the world outside the photograph meets the world inside the mind.”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York presented solo exhibitions in 1978 and 2002. The Whitney Museum of Art in New York in 1994 mounted major retrospective. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humblebaek, Denmark, mounted his works in 2007, and the exhibit traveled to Milan, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and San Francisco through 2009.

Reviews

[Sassy Katt · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the beginning when I first discovered his work I was pretty impressed. His style is edgy and real. He doesn't try to pretty things up. It's just there, in your face. Take it or leave it. Which is kinda refreshing after you see and know that just about every photograph out there has been doctored in some way. However, I don't know if I'm becoming bored with his stuff or what my deal is. This book held no surprises for me. It. Was. The. Same. Thing. Every book he has put out seems like it's a duplicate of the previous book.

[Kandise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4 stars because the first essay was so tedious I didn't bother to read the rest. The photographs are excellent, of course, and that's what matters.

[Yana Dudko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Видання дуже якісне. Одне задоволення гортати сторінки і переглядати роботи пана Аведона.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like most of the photography in this book, but I think the text is pretentious. All the commentators seem to be trying to be so "arty" and sophisticated. Some of it is so pretentious that it is hard to understand; partial sentences like we know the endings.

I really love the portrait of the Dali Lama. He strikes me as laughing at the whole thing.

[Digi M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course it’s brilliant. It’s Richard Avedon.

I find it amazing that he found his style, his signature shot, so early on his career, and didn’t waver from it for the rest of his life.

It’s an amazing book. My favorite are the American West photographs, and the bee keeper.

[Benjamin Nieves]

Beautiful compilation of Avedon portrait work.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous portraits, readable commentaries from various contributors...a pure pleasure to read.

[Terri]

I do not much like this man's photographs. Seems like he takes himself too seriously.

[Jaimie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If any book functions as an introduction and overview to Avedon's portfolio, this book is it. It showcases a broad range of themes, from fashion to portraiture, and included subjcts that every Avedon fan should know as wella as some lesser known works. The focus is on his portraits (i.e. "serious" work) which many will be familiar with, but I particularly enjoyed the nod to his fashion work and the chapter of photos from Berlin 1989.

Surprisingly, the accompanying essays are also quite enjoyable, as they provide some technical and critical commentary without becoming too academic - which is a hard balance to strike and is rarely achieved.

[Kiof · Rating 5 out of 5]

so what if you got to photo every interesting person of the 20th century? and it turned out that the drifters and patients of insane asylums and your dad were the best photographs. ain't that art? (not dissing the celebrity photos, those are great. all the stuff is great.)

[Sam]

neeeeeed.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing collection of his work, and fun to read about how he ot his subjects to show the expressions that made his work famous.