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therealcubcake's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
poliver's review against another edition
5.0
An exhaustive and engrossing biography of Richard Avedon, one of the most iconic photographers of the last century. The book covers his life from childhood, growing up on Long Island under a stern and icy father figure, his fast-moving career in fashion photography, complex relationships with friends and family and the inner demons that haunted him.
Avedon developed an interest in photography at the age of nine when he began to photograph his sister with a Brownie camera. Driven and focused, he was determined to work at Harper's Bazaar magazine and his dream materialized after an aggressive push to ingratiate himself into the company fold by getting acquainted with the art director Alexey Brodovitch who, in turn, introduced him to editor Carmel Snow. Under the tutelage of Brodovitch and Snow (whom he identified as parental figures) as well as "eccentric aunt" Diana Vreland, Avedon quickly moved up the ladder, first working at Junior Bazaar (an offshoot of Harper's) and eventually becoming the successor to George Hoyningen-Huene. Avedon's first magazine cover appeared in 1947 just as Dior was taking the fashion world by storm.
The stories behind some of Avedon's most popular photos are all here, from how he achieved his most memorable fashion shots (like model Dovima posed alongside a pair of elephants) to his renowned portraits of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Marian Anderson, Rudolph Nureyev, Isac Dinesen, Andy Warhol and the Beatles. There are also wonderful stories and anecdotes about his relationships with the famous models he worked with, like Dorian Leigh, Suzy Parker, Twiggy, Lauren Hutton, Penelope Tree and China Malcado. He also cultivated friendships with Leonard Bernstein, Truman Capote and Mike Nichols (which developed into an affair that lasted a decade).
As successful as Avedon became, he was plagued by doubts about his work not being taken seriously and tirelessly worked to make the critics and the world look at his work as art. He also struggled with his homosexuality and was paranoid about people finding out (he would accompany his date to the theater but insisted that they sit several rows apart from each other). He was married twice, first to model and actress Doe Newell and later Evelyn Franklin (who was formerly married to photographer Milton Greene). Despite his friendly and caring nature, his relationships to his wife and children suffered, mainly because of his workaholic habits.
Meticulously researched and excellently crafted, this is a wonderful read for anyone interested in celebrity, photography and the fashion world.
Avedon developed an interest in photography at the age of nine when he began to photograph his sister with a Brownie camera. Driven and focused, he was determined to work at Harper's Bazaar magazine and his dream materialized after an aggressive push to ingratiate himself into the company fold by getting acquainted with the art director Alexey Brodovitch who, in turn, introduced him to editor Carmel Snow. Under the tutelage of Brodovitch and Snow (whom he identified as parental figures) as well as "eccentric aunt" Diana Vreland, Avedon quickly moved up the ladder, first working at Junior Bazaar (an offshoot of Harper's) and eventually becoming the successor to George Hoyningen-Huene. Avedon's first magazine cover appeared in 1947 just as Dior was taking the fashion world by storm.
The stories behind some of Avedon's most popular photos are all here, from how he achieved his most memorable fashion shots (like model Dovima posed alongside a pair of elephants) to his renowned portraits of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Marian Anderson, Rudolph Nureyev, Isac Dinesen, Andy Warhol and the Beatles. There are also wonderful stories and anecdotes about his relationships with the famous models he worked with, like Dorian Leigh, Suzy Parker, Twiggy, Lauren Hutton, Penelope Tree and China Malcado. He also cultivated friendships with Leonard Bernstein, Truman Capote and Mike Nichols (which developed into an affair that lasted a decade).
As successful as Avedon became, he was plagued by doubts about his work not being taken seriously and tirelessly worked to make the critics and the world look at his work as art. He also struggled with his homosexuality and was paranoid about people finding out (he would accompany his date to the theater but insisted that they sit several rows apart from each other). He was married twice, first to model and actress Doe Newell and later Evelyn Franklin (who was formerly married to photographer Milton Greene). Despite his friendly and caring nature, his relationships to his wife and children suffered, mainly because of his workaholic habits.
Meticulously researched and excellently crafted, this is a wonderful read for anyone interested in celebrity, photography and the fashion world.
teachocolateandbooks's review against another edition
4.0
An in-depth biography of one of the best known photographer of the 20th Century. I had only two issues with the book: first the theory raised that Avedon and Mike Nichols had an affair spanning decades with no real proof of the relationship and the second was the in-depth description of his better known photos without the photo in the book. I kept my phone close so that I could look up the photo. I would have been happy to have only one section of personal photos and a second of the photos discussed in the book.
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