Richard Avedon (1923–2004)

I've read quite a few of Avedon's photography books before, but many of them lacked a clear focus or provided context for viewers who aren't his contemporaries. Surprisingly, this book did not really come together for me until the finale essay (a part of most photography books which I generally skip, so that I can come to my own conclusions about the work), where the writer explained the evolution of Avedon's portraiture process alongside the political subject matter which dominated the show more portraits themselves. I fully admit that American history is not an area where I feel comfortable (mostly due to disgust, as well as general boredom), so Avedon's politically charged subject matter won't strike as strong a note with me as with most other viewers, but the essay really helped to elaborate on the social climate, political movements, and strange personalities who Avedon chose to photograph. I'll always be more interested in his fashion photography, but the photographic techniques which he pioneered as art in this series do have a lot to say and I'm sure as I learn more about the subject matter I will come to appreciate the portraits even more. show less

Most of Avedon's photography books are heavily weighted towards his portraiture work, so I was happy to discover one solely dedicated to his fashion portfolio. Avedon himself may shrug off this work as thematically shallow, but the experimentation that magazines like Harper's Bazaar and Vogue allowed him early on his career to discover his interests, techniques, and strengths that could later be applied to the non-fashion fields. The book clearly shows this evolution by presenting the show more photographs chronologically, so the reader is confronted with the climb to perfection from early experiments, and then the quick decline of interest as Avedon moved away from the fashion industry. show less

Acclaimed for his portraits of people and women of great beauty, Richard Avedon was one of the 20th century's greatest photographers - but perhaps not the most obvious choice to create a portrait of ordinary people of the American West. This work shows Avedon's working methods, choice of subjects, creative process, and experiments and failures.

Internationally acclaimed for his portraits of powerful and accomplished people and women of great beauty, Richard Avedon was one of the twentieth show more century's greatest photographers-but perhaps not the most obvious choice to create a portrait of ordinary people of the American West. Yet in 1979, the Amon Carter Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, daringly commissioned him to do just that.

The resulting 1985 exhibition and book, In the American West, was a milestone in American photography and Avedon's most important body of work. His unflinching portraits of oilfield and slaughterhouse workers, miners, waitresses, drifters, mental patients, teenagers, and others captured the unknown and often-ignored people who work at hard, uncelebrated jobs. Making no apologies for shattering stereotypes of the West and Westerners, Avedon said, "I'm looking for a new definition of a photographic portrait. I'm looking for people who are surprising-heartbreaking-or beautiful in a terrifying way. Beauty that might scare you to death until you acknowledge it as part of yourself."

Photographer Laura Wilson worked with Avedon during the six years he was making In the American West. In Avedon at Work, she presents a unique photographic record of his creation of this masterwork-the first time a major photographer has been documented in great depth over an extended period of time. She combines images she made during the photographic sessions with entries from her journal to show Avedon's working methods, his choice of subjects, his creative process, and even his experiments and failures. Also included are a number of Avedon's finished portraits, as well as his own comments and letters from some of the subjects.

Avedon at Work adds a new dimension to our understanding of one of the twentieth century's most significant series of portraits. For everyone interested in the creative process it confirms that, in Laura Wilson's words, "much as all these photographs may appear to be moments that just occurred, they are finally, in varying degrees, works of the imagination." show less

I will always love this - my first one. I saw the show as a teen and it changed my life. It set the standard for all Avedon projects that followed and for the critical view of post-war photography. Afterwards, work done for hire could be regarded as legitimate art by the establishment...all because of that Met seal of approval.