Richard Avedon has been one of the most influential photographers to have existed in the world of fashion and portraiture.
His fashion photographs full of personality, movement and freshness turned upside down what was known up to now, catapulting him to worldwide fame.
In the field of portraiture, he stood out deeply for his search for the essence of the characters he portrayed. Provocative portraits of the most famous and powerful personalities, critical portraits of American society or portraits that dismantled the American dream.
His unique and daring style made him one of the most acclaimed and prolific photographers in history.
Have you been curious to meet this magnificent photographer? Follow me, you'll love it.
WHO IS RICHARD AVEDON? BIOGRAPHY
Richard Avedon was born in New York in 1923, the only child in a Jewish family of Russian immigrants. His father had a clothing store and his mother was very fond of photography. Both events marked what would be his prolific career.
He studied philosophy at Columbia University.which he later left to enlist in the navy where he worked photographing personnel with a Rolleiflex camera gift from his father before enlisting in 1942.
This period was decisive for the mastery of photographic technique. He made more than 100,000 portraits.
After his period in the Navy, he joined the New School for Social Research where he met the art director of the prestigious magazine Harper's Bazaar. At just 21 years old, he became part of it in a relationship that lasted more than 20 years and in which he ended up being a cinematographer.
In 1946 he opened his own studio and traveled to Paris where he became known with his groundbreaking and unprecedented style, seeking freshness and apparent spontaneity in photographs that were not improvised.
The models are presented in their photographs with personality traits, agile and graceful, not as mannequins as was the style at that time.
These photographs contrasted greatly with the photography that had been taken up to that moment, much more classic and static.
He portrayed the most influential people of his time, from actors, presidents, and even royalty. All the people who "were someone" wanted to take their picture with him.
These types of portraits were made with a white or neutral background, in order to decontextualize the portrayed person. He was looking for his essence, his psychological depth and sometimes he had his models in the studio for hours until he found the expression he was looking for.
Richard Avedon explored both editorial fashion photography and portrait photography, the latter genre being the one he always considered most important. He published several portrait works:
- Nothing personal is a critique of American society, of its organization of power, of injustices.
- Family includes the portraits of the personalities of the time, in which he looks for his most hidden side.
One of his most important works was In the American West . In this job he toured the American West photographing ordinary people but with the same style with which he photographed great personalities.
The images include a white background and he wants to show the essence of the people he portrays, giving them prominence, giving them a name, taking them out of anonymity and elevating them to the category of art.
In the American West was probably his most groundbreaking work. He demystified the image of the American West by showing the faces of factory workers, miners, housewives, etc. Often, with very hard lives, very far from the mythologized image that was had of that area of the United States.
He died in 2004 of a brain hemorrhage while documenting the electoral process for The New Yorker ..
You can take a look at their website here.
AWARDS
Richard Avedon received numerous awards during his prolific career. Here are some of the most prominent:
- AIGA medal
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award (1988)
- Hasselblad Foundation International Award (1991)
- Swim Award (1994)
CHARACTERISTICS OF RICHARD AVEDON'S WORK
The work of this photographer could be broadly divided into his work as a fashion photographer and his work as a portraitist.
FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
It is in the world of fashion that Avedon gains worldwide fame, turning this genre completely around.
His photography is posed and thought out to the millimeter but the air he breathes is fresh, spontaneous, the models stop being mere mannequins and become the leading part of the image. Their emotions matter, they are reflected, they are part of the image.
The elegant movement versus the static image, and some images full of fresh theatricality turn all the fashion photography that was done at the time upside down, much more corseted.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Avedon's portraits are almost a psychological analysis of the people he portrays and even of the society they inhabit. They do not seek to extol beauty or power, they seek the true essence of the person, that moment in which they relax, get angry, get uncomfortable, that moment when the mask falls, and it shows itself as it is.
Especially when it comes to photographing celebrities used to cameras, what he looks for is the moment when the pose is lost and the real person behind it comes out. The insecure or tired, sad or worried person, etc.
Two good examples of this type of photography by Richard Avedon are these that I show you below:
A picture is worth a thousand words, right? The nobility had never come out in an image so spontaneously and surely unflattering or the image of a tired, worried Marilyn, with a lost look far from the diva she used to represent.
Formal level portraits are characterized by using a white or neutral background to decontextualize the character, and not distract attention from the main figure, from his intimate gestures, from his personality.
The white background is very characteristic of all his work, he will use it in his portraits regardless of the profile of the photographed person (for his series on celebrities but also to elevate ordinary people to the category of works of art).
MOST IMPORTANT PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD AVEDON
It is impossible to stay with a few images since his work is as extensive as it is exceptional. He leaves you with three galleries, one for each of the main phases of his work: fashion, celebrity portraiture, and his American West portrait work:
ICONIC FASHION PHOTOGRAPHS
Full of glamor and elegance but also of movement, spontaneity and creativity.
PORTRAITS OF PERSONALITIES
Avedon photographed all of America's elite throughout his long career. Characters like Groucho Marx, Marilyn Monroe, the Dukes of Windsor, Reagan, Obama... few celebrities escaped his gaze.
ICONIC PORTRAITS OF HIS WORK IN THE WEST
His trip to the Western United States led him to portray beekeepers, housewives, miners, homeless people, prostitutes, farm workers, etc. As you can see, he uses the same format as for representing celebrities.
RICHARD AVEDON QUOTES
Knowing a photographer through his words has always seemed most interesting to me. Here are some phrases by Richard Avedon that summarize his way of perceiving the world:
My portraits say more about me than about the people I photograph.
I hate cameras. They interfere and always meddle. I wish I could work with my eyes only.
All art is about control, the encounter between control and the uncontrollable.
I want to make portraits as intense as the people.
Anything can be an art if you put it at the level of art.
I think you have to love your job so much that it's all you want to do.
DOCUMENTARY ABOUT RICHARD AVEDON
Documentaries about photographers are always a good way to delve into their life and work. In this documentary about Richard Avedon entitled Darkness and Light you will be able to understand his philosophy, the motivations and the reflections behind his images.
BOOKS
If you are interested in making room for this great and influential artist on your shelves, if you want to know in depth his life and work, you can take a look at the following publications related to Richard Avedon:
Richard Avedon: Something personal. A 720-page biography of the author. You can get it for €35.00
Richard Avedon: Woman in the mirror. A compilation of images based on portraits of famous women, from the world of fashion, but also from ordinary women. It has 256 pages. You can get it for €57.50
Richard Avedon: Advertising. A compilation of his advertising works. It has 352 pages. You can get it for €37.95
Avedon at Work: In the American West. A compilation of his advertising works. It has 132 pages. You can get it for €61.03
Avedon Baldwin . A collaboration between both artists with their most iconic images. It has 160 pages. Get it for €60.00
Did you know this prolific and influential photographer? Undoubtedly one of the most groundbreaking and admired of all time, a photographer of the soul and essence, a visionary and an exceptional portrait painter.
