I've seen many of Avedon's portraits from the "American West," as they are his signature pieces, but seeing all of the portraits collected together was a very powerful experience. So many of the portraits are seriouis and borderline dour that the collection has a slight negative tinge, but I think that this is kind of the point; the "West" in this period of time is going through a certain amount of recession and many are going through struggles with the transition from the prosperous past to an empty future. I'm not sure what the effect of Avedon's collection was on the general public when it came to a public viewing, but I can imagine that the impact was strong. ( )