Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Photographer Summary

Irving Penn


Irving Penn, born on June 16, 1917 in Plainfield, New Jersey, is famous American photographer known for his work in fashion magazines, portraits, and still life. He also managed an independent advertising company for clients like Issey Miyake and Clinque. At the age of 27, Penn attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art for four years, studying drawing, painting, graphics, and industrial arts under Alexey Brodovitch. After having many features in the Harper's Bazaar, Penn worked for two years as a freelance designer and began his amateur photography, ultimately taking over his mentor's position (Brodovitch) as art directer at Sak's Fifth Avenue, and after a year directing and traveling to Mexico and across the U.S. In 1943, Penn landed his first cover in Vogue magazine shooting covers, still lives, fashion, and photographic essays. Around 1950, founded his on New York studio for advertising, which led him to his marriage to the fashion model Lisa Fonssagrives, lasting 55 years until her late death in 1992, and his own death in 2009 at his home in Manhattan, New York. Although his work in fashion brought him renown, his work in global ethnographic photography, still life compositions, and being one of the first photographers to use simple white/grey backdrops (with subjects like Martha Graham, Pablo Picasso, and Igor Stravinsky) also gave him great respect in the arts community, impacting life in the 1930's to modern day.

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