Richard Avedon in Oz

An exhibition of portraits by iconic US photographer Richard Avedon opens at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra on 23 August.

The first major exhibition in Australia by iconic American photographer Richard Avedon (1923-2004) will show at The National Portrait Gallery in Canberra from 23 August to 24 November 2013.

The exhibition, titled Richard Avedon People, was created in partnership with the Richard Avedon Foundation in New York and comprises 80 original photographs, focussing on Avedon's portraits of people, known and unknown, from the second half of the 20th century.

Avedon’s photographs for Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue magazines in the 1950s and 1960s established his strikingly bold style. As the chief photographer for Harper’s Bazaar from 1945-1965, Avedon was considered one of the world’s greatest photographers and one of the first to frame fashion in an avant-garde context. Avedon’s 1980 exhibition at the University of California’s Berkeley Art Museum powerfully demonstrated the pared-back quality of his portraits and the strength of his observational skills. In 1992 Richard Avedon became The New Yorker magazine’s staff photographer.

Executive Director of the Richard Avedon Foundation, James Martin, observed, “It has been a pleasure collaborating with the National Portrait Gallery on Richard Avedon People and it is truly exciting to bring this group of photographs to Australia. Christopher Chapman [National Portrait Gallery curator] has curated a thoughtful introduction to Richard Avedon for the Southern Hemisphere. The exhibition is complex, innovative, and provides a unique and interesting vision of the photographer's portraiture”.

Richard Avedon People will be on show at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra until November 24 and will then tour to Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia in late 2013 and early 2014.

More info: www.portrait.gov.au


Marilyn Monroe, actress, New York City, May 6, 1957, by Richard Avedon. Gelatin silver print © The Richard Avedon Foundation.

Avedon’s photographs for Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue magazines in the 1950s and 1960s established his strikingly bold style. As the chief photographer for Harper’s Bazaar from 1945-1965, Avedon was considered one of the world’s greatest photographers and one of the first to frame fashion in an avant-garde context. Avedon’s 1980 exhibition at the University of California’s Berkeley Art Museum powerfully demonstrated the pared-back quality of his portraits and the strength of his observational skills. In 1992 Richard Avedon became The New Yorker magazine’s staff photographer.

Richard Avedon People will be on show at the National Portrait Gallery from August 23 until November 24. It will then tour to Monash University’s Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia in late 2013 and early 2014. Visit the National Portrait Gallery, on King Edward Terrace, Parkes, Canberra, or www.portrait.gov.au


John Steinbeck IV, writer, Saigon, South Vietnam, October 2, 1971, by Richard Avedon. Gelatin silver print @ The Richard Avedon Foundation.


Truman Capote, writer, New York City, October 10, 1955, by Richard Avedon. © The Richard Avedon Foundation.