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BackgroundBackground
Irving Penn was born June of 1917, in Plainfield, New Jersey.
Attending the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art, now the University of the Arts, Irving Penn studied drawing and painting but after realizing he wouldn’t make it as an artist he majored in design and participated in classes that fostered some of the twentieth century’ most famous image makers, directed by Alexey Brodovitch.
After spending two summer After spending two summer vacations interning at vacations interning at
Harper’s Bazaar Harper’s Bazaar in New York in New York assisting Brodovitch, he assisting Brodovitch, he became the art director.became the art director.
The money he made from publishing some of drawing is
the magazine was used to buy his first camera, a
Rolleiflex and jump start his career as a photographer. He
worked as a freelance designer in New York, the art director for the Junior League
magazine.
In 1940-1941, Penn worked as In 1940-1941, Penn worked as a commercial artist at Saks a commercial artist at Saks
Fifth Ave, creating advertising Fifth Ave, creating advertising design strategies. He was design strategies. He was Brodovitch assistant, and Brodovitch assistant, and then moved on to working then moved on to working
independently.independently.
He then meet Alexander Liberman, the Assistant Art Director of Vogue at the time, and was invited to join
the staff that brainstormed ideas for the covers. Together they worked
outside of Vogue studio, in the Graybar building, where pictures by
Penn began appearing in the magazine. His first colour
photograph, and also the first still-life cover ever to be used for Vogue,
was photographed in the October 1943 Vogue cover. After that more
than 150 covers features his photographs for the next 50 years
In 1944, he voluntered as an In 1944, he voluntered as an ambulance driver and ambulance driver and photographer for the photographer for the
American Field Service.American Field Service.
He was later part of the Leading Photographers, touring exhibition in the
Museum of Modern Art. It opened at the Indiana
University in March of 1949 and traveled throughout the
US until January of 1954.
Penn was sent to Paris to photograph the couture collections for Penn was sent to Paris to photograph the couture collections for VogueVogue for the first time. However, while he was there, he started for the first time. However, while he was there, he started a series called Small Trades where he took a series of portraits of a series called Small Trades where he took a series of portraits of
workers, which continues in London and finished the third and workers, which continues in London and finished the third and final stages of the series in New Yorkfinal stages of the series in New York
A year later, in 1951, Vogue’s New York studios closed down
However, in 1954, Penn opened his own studio at 80 West 40However, in 1954, Penn opened his own studio at 80 West 40thth Street.Street.
His camera’s he used were Rolleiflex, Deardorff V8 and the His camera’s he used were Rolleiflex, Deardorff V8 and the Hasselblad.Hasselblad.
He began printing in platinum metals in 1964He began printing in platinum metals in 1964
Francis Bacon, take in 1962, first printed using gelatin silver, then reprinted in 1980 using platinum metals
100100THTH Vogue cover by Vogue cover by Penn, January 1 issue Penn, January 1 issue
(1965)(1965)
GenreGenrePenn is known for his fashion
photography, but he photographed everything; Still life, famous artists, strangers… however, his interest wasn’t on the personality of the
individual but more on the gesture of the subject he was taking the picture
of.
“In photographing a woman, you pour out adoration — which you of course
genuinely feel — at the same time that you’re being concerned about how the
garment hangs, as they say. One without the other is not going to
work.”
19671967He did a series of portraits of the emerging hippy scene, for Look. And also photographed
the Hell’s Angels
In 1973, Penn closed his studio at 80 West 40th Street and rented a Fifth Avenue space for commercial and assignment work on a needs basis. And continued platinum printing in his Long Island darkroom.
In 1975, he had an exhibit in the MoMa titled Irving Penn: Recent Works, Photographs of Cigarettes. The exhibit has 12 of his platinum prints that begun in 1972
Throughout the 1990- 2009 Throughout the 1990- 2009 Irving Penn’s images has Irving Penn’s images has
been featured in numerous been featured in numerous exhibitions. exhibitions.
Irving Penn: Master Images was held at the National Museum of
American Art (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum) and the National
Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
Irving Penn Photographs: A Donation in Memory of Lisa
Fonssagrives-Penn opened at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, and toured throughout Europe.
Exhibition entitled Exhibition entitled Le Bain: Le Bain: Dancers' Workshop of San Dancers' Workshop of San
Francisco held at the Maison Francisco held at the Maison Européenne de la Européenne de la
Photographie, Paris.Photographie, Paris.
Following Penn's donation of his professional archives to
the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995, the exhibition Irving
Penn: A Career in Photography was held and a book published by Bulfinch.
Dancer: 1999 Nudes by Irving Penn, which was held in 2002 at
the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and which later
travelled to Paris.Still Life: Irving Penn Photographs 1938-2000
was published by Bulfinch Press and Little, Brown and Company.
Irving Penn: Platinum Prints Irving Penn: Platinum Prints exhibition held at the exhibition held at the
National Gallery of Art in National Gallery of Art in Washington. Washington.
Exhibition entitled Close Encounters: Portraits of Artists and
Writers, containing sixty-seven portraits by Penn, was held at the Morgan Library & Museum in New
York.
And in 2009, J. Paul Getty Museum acquired a unique master set of the Small Trades series in 2008
and mounted an exhibition, Irving Penn: Small Trades. A catalogue
was published by Getty.
Irving Penn died on Irving Penn died on the 7the 7thth of October, in of October, in
New YorkNew York“I myself have always stood in awe of the camera. I recognize it for the instrument it is, part Stradivarius, part scalpel.” – Irving
Penn