A while back, Richard Avedon had a confession to make. “I hate cameras,” said the man who revolutionized fashion and portrait photography. “If I could only work with my eyes alone!”
Yet Avedon’s photos seem to do just that — they remove the distance the camera lens creates to make you feel that you are right there beside his subjects.
Born in New York City in 1923, Avedon had a stern father, an artistic mother and a beautiful, but troubled, sister. At 18, he wanted to be a poet. And the slight, 5’7” dreamer didn’t lack confidence — or a sense of drama. “I know my drifting will not prove a loss / For mine is a rolling stone that has gathered moss,” he wrote in 1941.
A year later, Avedon joined the Merchant Marines, where he spent his World War II years shooting ID photos of new recruits. “I must have taken pictures of 100,000 faces before it occurred to me I was becoming a photographer,” he later recalled.
After demobilization in 1944, Avedon shot fashion pictures for the tony Manhattan department store Bonwit Teller and studied with Alexey Brodovitch, the legendary art director of Harper’s Bazaar. By 1945, his work was appearing in Junior Bazaar.
“His first photographs for us were technically very bad,” Brodovitch later recalled. “But they were not snapshots. . . . Those first pictures of his had freshness and individuality, and they showed enthusiasm and a willingness to take chances.”
Who else was willing to take chances? Brodovitch and Carmel Snow, editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar, who soon sent the young talent to fashion’s sacred capital, Paris.
The postwar years were hard in Paris. When Avedon first arrived there, in 1946, it was with an explicit directive from Snow. “Dick was tasked with this idea that he was there to rebuild Paris,” explains Martin. In restoring the energy and excitement around Paris, Avedon imbued it with some of his own.
Avedon’s models jumped, twirled, leapt over puddles and they smiled. Like Avedon himself, they rarely stood still. While he wasn’t the first to use action in fashion photography (in the 1930s, Martin Munkacsi and Toni Frissell began creating fashion images of women engaged in sporty scenarios), Avedon was the first to pair such vitality with women wearing couture.
Character and spirit became la mode. Dovima’s graceful silhouette juxtaposed against the wrinkled heft of two shackled elephants. Dorian Leigh laughing and embracing a bicycle racer. Suzy Parker roller skating across the Place de la Concorde. Sunny Harnett and her cool gaze just daring the roulette table — and every man in the room — not to do her bidding. There was always a narrative in an Avedon mise en scène — whether the background was elaborately staged or stark, the model’s job had forever changed from posing, to acting.
Of course, Avedon did not limit himself to fashion photography. The little boy who once collected autographs grew up to create the most iconic portraits of the 20th century, many of these were included in an exhibition at Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, New York, in 2017.
A 1958 New Yorker profile noted that even though Avedon’s portraits immortalized cultural elites such as Truman Capote, Elsa Maxwell and Charles Laughton, the qualities that most interested the photographer were “advanced age, physical debility, ugliness, or the pathos underlying the surface insouciance.” Yet “none of Avedon’s subjects seem to resent this kind of treatment . . . being selected to sit for one of his Harper’s Bazaar portraits ranks as an accolade.”
Over the next 40-plus years of his career, his iconic portraiture never lost its force; although at times, his unvarnished truth felt cruel.
But Avedon was a creator, not an observer, and he made no apologies for this. The sitter and the photographer “have separate ambitions for the image,” he wrote in 1985. “His need to plead his case probably goes as deep as my need to plead mine, but the control is with me.”
Find original Richard Avedon photography on 1stDibs.
The Beatles Portfolio - Offset and Lithograph by Richard Avedon - 1967
By Richard Avedon
Located in Roma, IT
A complete portfolio of four individual psychedelic portraits of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, accompanied by the composite poster uniting all four i...
Lithograph, Offset
Richard Avedon Original 1967 poster featuring John Lennon - The Beatles
By Richard Avedon
Located in PARIS, FR
Original 1967 poster featuring John Lennon, one of the iconic members of The Beatles, immortalized by the legendary photographer Richard Avedon, is a timel...
Paper
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
Richard Avedon signed Marlborough Gallery Exhibition Poster
By Richard Avedon
Located in Senoia, GA
This is the famous poster for the pivotal first major exhibition of master photographer Richard Avedon’s work at a commercial New York art gallery, the Marlborough Gallery. This post...
Lithograph
Les années 1940 (Stephanie Seymour: La Passante du Siecle)
By Richard Avedon
Located in Houston, TX
Richard Avedon Les années 1940 (Stephanie Seymour: La Passante du Siecle), 1997 Gelatin silver print 15 1/2 x 19 in (39.4 x 48.3 cm) Edition of 4 JPHB 5683
Silver Gelatin
Richard Avedon Original 1967 poster featuring Ringo Starr - The Beatles
By Richard Avedon
Located in PARIS, FR
The original 1967 poster featuring Ringo Starr, one of the legendary members of The Beatles, captured by the renowned photographer Richard Avedon, stands as an iconic piece of pop cu...
Paper
$1,191
Richard Avedon Original 1967 poster featuring Paul McCartney - The Beatles
By Richard Avedon
Located in PARIS, FR
The original 1967 poster featuring Paul McCartney, a luminary member of The Beatles, captured by the legendary photographer Richard Avedon, stands as a sig...
Paper
RICHARD AVEDON - CENTER FOR CREATIVE IMAGING
By Richard Avedon
Located in Portland, ME
Avedon, Richard. RICHARD AVEDON - CENTER FOR CREATIVE IMAGING. Poster, 1991. Signed in ink by Avedon. Captioned " Gordon Stevenson, drifter Interstate 90 Butte Montana...
Offset
Elise Daniels, Turban by Paulette, Le Pré-Catalan, Paris
By Richard Avedon
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Suzy Parker and Gardner McKay (Dress by Balmain), Café Des Beaux-Arts, Paris
By Richard Avedon
Located in New York, NY
Richard Avedon (1923-2004) Suzy Parker and Gardner McKay (Dress by Balmain), Café des Beaux-Arts, Paris, August 1956 1956/2001 Signed and numbered in pencil, verso Gelatin silver ...
Silver Gelatin
Elise Daniels, Turban by Paulette, Le Pré-Catelan, Paris
By Richard Avedon
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer on the verso
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Marlene Dietrich, Turban by Dior, The Ritz, Paris, 1955
By Richard Avedon
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer on the verso
Silver Gelatin
Twiggy, Hair by Ara Gallant, Paris Studio, January, 1968
By Richard Avedon
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer
Silver Gelatin
Spanish Woman with Guitar
By Jan Matulka
Located in New York, NY
Jan Matulka (1890-1972), Spanish Woman with Guitar, lithograph, 1925, an unsigned proof impression. Reference: Flint 13, only a few impressions known...
Lithograph
$5,480
H 25.2 in W 19.69 in
Alexander Calder (1898–1976) - Phonograph - Color lithograph on paper - 1976
By Alexander Calder
Located in Varese, IT
Color lithograph on paper from the folder 'Music Maestro Please I', edited in 1976. Limited edition, numbered as 14/75 in lower left corner. Hand-signed in pencil by artist at the bo...
Paper, Lithograph
$1,950
H 17.25 in W 22.25 in
1939 Pictorial Map of Chinatown San Francisco World’s Fair Golden Gate Bridge
Located in Yardley, PA
A vibrant pictorial map of San Francisco’s Chinatown, created by Ethel Chun in 1939. It is rendered in striking tones of traditional Chinese red and yellow. Oriented with west at the...
Paper
$250
H 14.69 in W 11.94 in
Soldanella Alpina Alpine Soldanella /// English Botanical Flower Engraving Print
By William Curtis
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: William Curtis (English, 1746-1799) Title: "Soldanella Alpina Alpine Soldanella" (Vol. 2, Plate 49) Portfolio: The Botanical Magazine; or, Flower-Garden Displayed Year: 1788 ...
Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio
$18,500
H 25.5 in W 19.5 in
Marc Chagall, Hommage à Elsa Triolet, rare hand signed lithograph
By Marc Chagall
Located in Chatsworth, CA
Marc Chagall Hommage à Elsa Triolet, 1972 Lithograph in colors on Arches paper Hand signed and numbered 7/20 from the very rare edition of 20 Mourlot 642 Paper: 25.5 x 19.5 Framed: ...
Lithograph
$2,213
H 24 in W 24 in D 1 in
We Are the Jocular Clan (6) Hand Signed Lithograph, Framed, 122/300
By Takashi Murakami
Located in Aventura, FL
Offset lithograph in colors on smooth wove paper. Hand signed lower right by Takashi Murakami. Hand numbered 122/300 lower right. Published by Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., Tokyo. Artwo...
Paper, Lithograph, Offset
$600
H 10.13 in W 16.75 in
Set of Three Engravings from Nash's "History of Worcestershire" /// Landscapes
By Treadway Russell Nash
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Treadway Russell Nash (English, 1724-1811) Title: "A View of Pershore, from Pensham hill", "A View of Shipston upon Stour", and "Kidderminster" Portfolio: Collections for the History of Worcestershire Year: 1781-1782 (First edition) Medium: Set of Three Original Engravings on watermarked laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: John Nichols, London, UK Publisher: T. Payne and Son, J. Robson, B. White, Leigh and Sotheby, London, UK; Fletcher, Oxford, UK; and Lewis, Worcester, UK Sheet size (each): approx. 10.13" x 16.75" Image size (each): approx. 7" x 11.88" Reference: Upcott III, page 1330 Condition: A few light handling creases. Have been professionally stored away for decades. They are all strong impressions in excellent condition Notes: Provenance: private collection - Aspen, CO. All three works were engraved by English artist Thomas Sanders (Active: Mid-Late 18th Century) after drawings by himself. Comes from Nash's two volume "Collections for the History of Worcestershire", (1781-1782) (First edition), which consists of 75 engravings. Each work is printed from one copper plate in one color: black. There was a (Second edition) "with Additions" bound in with Volume II of this portfolio published by John White in (1799). And both the First and Second editions of "Collections for the History of Worcestershire" are based off Thomas Sanders' 1779-1781 "Perspective Views of the Market Towns within the County of Worcester". All three, "A View of Pershore, from Pensham hill", "A View of Shipston upon Stour", and "Kidderminster" have an unidentified watermark in the center of their sheets resembling "XV". Biography: Treadway Russell Nash (24 June 1724 – 26 January 1811) was an English clergyman, now known as an early historian of Worcestershire and the author of Collections for the History of Worcestershire, an important source document for Worcestershire county histories. He was a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Treadway Russell Nash was born on 24 June 1724 born at Clerkenleap, in Kempsey, Worcestershire. His family were from Ombersley. They had lands there and at Claines, and had later bought lands in the Reformation around St Peter's, Droitwich. He was related to James Nash and John Nash, both MPs for Worcester. His father Richard, a grandson of Sir Rowland Berkeley, died in 1740, and Richard's eldest son in 1757. As a result, Treadway Russell Nash inherited the Russells' Strensham estates from his brother, as well as the Nash estates, and took both names. He was educated from the age of twelve at King's School, Worcester, and became a scholar at Worcester College, Oxford aged fifteen. In March 1749, he accompanied his brother on a trip to the continent, to aid Richard's health. They visited Paris for about six weeks, before spending the summer "on the banks of the Loire". They then visited "Bourdeaux, Thoulouse, Montpelier, Marseilles, Leghorn, Florence, Rome, Naples, Bologna, Venice, Padua, Verona, Milan, Lyons, and again Paris"; such expeditions are often known as the Grand Tour. On his return in late summer 1751, Nash took up a post as Vicar of Eynsham through his friend and future brother-in-law, John Martin. He also had an income as a tutor at Oxford. He took his Doctor of Divinity degree and left Oxford, having "gone out grand compounder", following the death of his brother. He also left his benefice at Eynsham in 1757. While at Oxford he had proposed a road from there to Witney (now the A40 and B4022), and also stood for Parliament. Nash married Margaret Martin...
Engraving, Laid Paper
$416
H 11.03 in W 8.86 in
Portrait of a Woman Daydreaming, 1951 - Original Mourlot lithograph
By Françoise Gilot
Located in Paris, IDF
Françoise GILOT (1921) Portrait of a Woman Daydreaming, 1951 Original lithograph On Marais vellum 28 x 22.5 cm (c. 11 x 9 inches) Information: From the poetry book "Pages d'Amour" ...
Lithograph
$10,245
H 29.73 in W 22.05 in D 0.04 in
Pink Series - Etching and Aquatint by Lucio Fontana - 1966
By Lucio Fontana
Located in Roma, IT
Pink Series is an artwork realized by Lucio Fontana in 1966. Etching and Aquatint on BFK Rives. cm 75,5x56, one of the biggest graphic works ever created by Fontana, and a conceptu...
Paper, Etching, Aquatint
$1,000
H 14.25 in W 11.6 in D 0.3 in
Lavishly illustrated large catalogue Recent Paintings Hand Signed by Chuck Close
By Chuck Close
Located in New York, NY
Chuck Close Recent Paintings (Hand Signed by Chuck Close), 2000 Large Illustrated Glossy Exhibition Catalogue with French folded flaps Hand signed by Chuck Close in black marker on t...
Ink, Offset, Lithograph
Jean Cocteau (after) - Carmen - Lithograph
By Jean Cocteau
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Lithograph after a drawing by Jean Cocteau Title: Carmen 1971 Dimensions: 38 x 28 cm Lithograph made for the portfolio "Gitans et Corridas" published by Société de Diffusion Artistique
Lithograph
The Smell of Us (Hand signed poster)
By Larry Clark
Located in New York, NY
Larry Clark The Smell of Us (Hand signed poster), 2015 Offset lithograph poster Pencil signed by Larry Clark on the back 10 1/2 × 15 1/2 inches Unframed Limited edition poster; hand ...
Lithograph, Offset
Sold
H 18.12 in W 13.98 in D 0.08 in
Bianca Jagger - Photograph by Richard Avedon - 1978
By Richard Avedon
Located in Roma, IT
Fine Duotone Photolithograph, printed in 1978. Medium weight - satin/matte finish. Excellent condition. Certificate of authenticity on rear.
Photographic Paper
"Friends in Deed"
By Richard Avedon
Located in Astoria, NY
Richard Avedon (American, 1923-2004), "Friends in Deed", Gelatin Silver Print, 1999, signed in ink and dated lower right, wood frame. Image: 9.75" H x 7.75" W; frame: 18" H x 15.5" W...
Silver Gelatin
Sold
H 26.78 in W 18.51 in
Richard Avedon Original 1967 poster featuring George Harrison The Beatles
By Richard Avedon
Located in PARIS, FR
Original 1967 poster featuring George Harrison, an iconic member of The Beatles, immortalized by the visionary photographer Richard Avedon, stands as a rem...
Paper
Sold
H 24.02 in W 35.44 in
hand-signed 1981 poster of Richard Avedon Nastassja Kinski and the serpent
By Richard Avedon
Located in PARIS, FR
In the world of photography and fashion, Richard Avedon remains an iconic figure whose work continues to inspire and captivate audiences. One of his most celebrated pieces, this hand...
Linen, Paper
Sold
H 9.73 in Dm 7.49 in
Marilyn Monroe for "Some Like It Hot, shooting", USA, 1958
By Richard Avedon
Located in Cologne, DE
Norma Jeane Mortenson or better known as Marilyn Monroe – iconic, beautiful and maybe the most known Hollywood Stars of the 20th century. Born and raised in Los Angeles, USA, she spe...
Black and White
Sold
H 40 in W 25 in
Richard Avedon Who Has a Better Right to Oppose the War (Vietnam protest poster)
By Richard Avedon
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Richard Avedon, "Who Has a Better Right to Oppose the War?," Vintage original protest poster, 1969 A famous 1969 Richard Avedon illustrated poster against the Vietnam War. Avedon's picture depicts a handsome soldier wearing a formal US Army uniform colored bright red (symbolic for blood). The soldier is seen holding a white dove, over the caption, 'Who Has a Better Right to Oppose the War?' Commissioned by The Student Mobilization Committee, the poster became a effective anti-war rallying device of the late 1960s. Off-set lithograph in colors 25 x 40 inches Some signs of minor handling; otherwise very good Plate signed on lower left Collections Whitney Museum of American Art - Daniel Wolf Collection of Protest Posters Richard Avedon’s dynamic, stylized portraits helped bridge the worlds of fashion and fine art photography. Avedon captured his staged subjects on black-and-white film, sometimes in motion. He turned his probing, intimate gaze on both everyday civilians and cultural icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Malcolm X. Avedon served as a photographer in the military before working as both a freelancer and staff photographer for publications including Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, The New Yorker, Life, and others. While he is widely known for his commercial and editorial practices, Avedon also exhibited widely in cities including New York, Paris, and London. Throughout his lifetime, he published a number of books of collected photography. On the secondary market, Avedon’s work has sold in excess of $1 million. Related Categories Richard Avedon Beatles.
Lithograph, Offset
1993 Richard Avedon 'An Autobiography' Book
By Richard Avedon
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Paper Size: 14.25 x 11.5 inches ( 36.195 x 29.21 cm ) Image Size: 14.25 x 11.5 inches ( 36.195 x 29.21 cm ) Framed: NoCondition: A-: Near Mint, very light signs of handling Addition...
Offset
Beatles Poster (set of 4)
By Richard Avedon
Located in Washington , DC, DC
In addition to working within the world of fashion, Richard Avedon lent his photographic talents to civil rights and rock posters. In 1967, Avedon shot fou...
Lithograph, Paper
The Beatles, Richard Avedon
By Richard Avedon
Located in New York, NY
This portfolio of four individual offset lithographs in color are from the first printing dating to 1967. It is the age and condition that makes this such a rare find, each print me...
Lithograph, Offset
The Beatles, Richard Avedon
By Richard Avedon
Located in New York, NY
This portfolio of four individual offset lithographs in color are from the first printing dating to 1967. It is the age and condition that makes this such a rare find, each print me...
Lithograph, Offset
The Beatles, Richard Avedon
By Richard Avedon
Located in New York, NY
This portfolio of four individual offset lithographs in color are from the first printing dating to 1967. It is the age and condition that makes this such a rare find, each print me...
Lithograph, Offset
Sold
H 24.5 in W 35.75 in
Richard Avedon-Nastassja Kinski and the Serpent-24.5" x 35.75"-Poster-1981
By Richard Avedon
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This photograph is of Natassja Kinski, the German-born model and actress. Kinski gained acclaim both through her active acting career, as well as through her relationship with Roman ...
Offset