Richard Avedon

The world-renowned fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon defined American fashion in the 20th century. Born in New York in 1923, he began working for Harper's Bazaar in 1945, quickly becoming their chief photographer. In 1962, he joined Diane Vreeland at Vogue where he photographed most covers until 1988. His early career was the inspiration for the film Funny Face. Famous campaigns include Brooke Shields for Calvin Klein jeans. Avedon depicted his models full of emotion and in motion — leaping and twirling. He also took stark portraits. Avedon's work has been featured in numerous museum shows, including two solo exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and a retrospective at the Whitney after his passing in 2004.