Celebrated photographer Irving Penn died Wednesday at age 92 at his home in Manhattan. Penn was known for his portrait and fashion photography for Vogue magazine. He also created still lifes.
He was one of the first photographers to pose his models against a simple gray or white background. His photographs, recognizable for their clarity, composition, and distinctive use of light, were sometimes far ahead of their time. A series of nude photographs made as early as 1949-1950 was not exhibited until 1980.
Photo Supplied by Alpha Press 068681 11/03/08 Photographs for Auction from the collection of Gert Elfering at Christie's in New York City. - Irving Penn, Kate Moss photograph, New York 1996, estimate auction value, $30,000 - 40,000.
Many celebrities, including Miles Davis, Pablo Picasso, Marlène Dietrich, and Alfred Hitchcock, posed for Penn. Penn continued photographing until his death.
In 1958, he was named one of "The World’s 10 Greatest Photographers" in a poll organized by Popular Photography Magazine.
"A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective." - Irving Penn.
He published many books, including A Notebook at Random , which contains a large selection of his photographs, drawings, and documents about his working methods, and Centennial from 2017.
