Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon is an American photographer who was best known for his work in the fashion word and for his minimalist, large scale character revealing portraits. He first started work as a photographer for the Merchant Marines, taking identification photos. He then moved into the fashion world, shooting for Harper 's Bazaar and Vogue, demanding that his models convey emotion and movement, a departure from the normal style of motionless fashion photography.

He was born on May 15, 1923 in New York City. His mother Anna, came from a family of dress manufacturers. His father Jacob, owned a clothing store named Avedon’s Fifth Avenue. Inspired by his parent’s clothing businesses, Avedon as a boy gained a great interest in fashion. He used this interest

Avedon and Baldwin served as editors of the school’s prestigious literary magazine, The Magpie. Following high school, Avedon enrolled at Columbia University to study philosophy and poetry. However, he dropped out after only one year to serve in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II. His main duty as a Photographer’s Mate Second Class, was taking identification portraits of sailors. He served in the Merchant Marine from 1942 to 1944. In 1944 Avedon attended the New School for Social Research in New York City to study photography under Alexey Brodovitch, who was the acclaimed art director of Harper’s Bazaar. The two formed a close bond, and within one year Avedon was hired as a staff photographer for the magazine. After many years of photographing daily life in New York City, Avedon was assigned to cover the spring and fall fashion collection in Paris. Avedon’s task was to stage photographs of models wearing the new fashions released in the city. Avedon served as a staff photographer for Harper’s Bazaar for twenty years, from 1945 to 1965. Avedon left Harper’s Bazaar in 1965, and from 1966 to 1990 he worked as a photographer for Vogue, its chief rival among American fashion magazines. In addition to