Hamiltons is pleased to present Avedon: Glamorous in celebration of the centenary of Richard Avedon’s birth. In recognition of the gallery’s long-standing association with the artist, and to mark this momentous occasion, the exhibition will present iconic and rarely seen photographs that focus on glamour - a central pillar to his oeuvre. Through his unique ability to invoke an exciting quality within his subjects Avedon could make even the most mundane appealing, bringing a sophisticated glamour to both some of the 20th century’s most notable figures and luminaries.
Richard Avedon, widely acknowledged as one of the pioneers of modern photography, but also one of its most influential proponents was born in New York City in 1923. His first foray into the world of professional photography came about in 1945, under the tutelage of Alexey Brodovitch, then at Harper’s Bazaar. Harper’s Bazaar alongside Vogue during the middle of the twentieth century operated as testing grounds for more conscious and imaginative styles of photography. It is these creative milieus that allowed Avedon to explore and develop his own practise as a fine art photographer, this focus of his was recognised with early solo shows at The Smithsonian (1962) and the Minneapolis Institute of Fine Art (1970). He would become the first living photographer to be honoured with a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1978, followed by a retrospective in 2002. Upon the occasion of that retrospective, Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1977-2008, remarked that Avedon “has distinguished himself as an artist of immense energy and originality and created many of the iconic images of our time”.
Hamiltons has worked closely with The Avedon Foundation to curate this exhibition to emphasise and convey the length and breadth of Avedon’s understanding of how a well-aimed lens has the power to capture a photograph that can distil and reveal how sheer human emotion manifested through individual mannerisms has the ability to convey an ethereal, transcendent glamour. Alongside his fashion photography, Avedon became renowned for his portraits that encompassed all walks of life. His subjects ranged from social activists to figures from high society, from Coco Chanel, Tina Turner, Andy Warhol, and the members of his factory, to Adam Clayton Powell, all unified by their ability to excite the artist’s compassion. His portraits reveal the essential character of his sitters, humanising them, and thus allowing the viewer to interact with the individual, their public persona cast aside.
Richard Avedon, Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, New York, May 8, 1957 © The Richard Avedon Foundation
