Emilia Lopez Art II: Photography Mrs.

Martinez 09/18/19

Richard Avedon Biography

Richard Avedon was born on May 15, 1923 in New York, New York. His parents Anna

Avedon and Jacob Israel Avedon. He had one sibling named Louise Avedon. Richard Avedon

grew up to be a very innovative and fashion forward. His photos were breath taking and

important to the fashion industry. He is sought to have defined “America’s image of style, beauty

and culture.” During his photography career, he achieved many coveted accomplishments that

small photographers would dream of attaining. His photographs made appearances in many big

influential magazines like Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and Life. Working with these big magazine

corporations led him to collaborate and photograph many significant celebrities to his time

period. The big name celebrities include President Eisenhower, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan, and

The Beatles. He was also able to publish a photography book which he named Nothing Personal.

His artwork displays also made appearances in many museums like The Museum of Modern Art

in New York, New York. Although Avedon had many quotes and well-known saying, the one

that awestruck me the most was “ If each photography steals a bit of the soul, isn’t it possible

that I give up pieces of mine every time I take a picture.” I liked this quote because it was a play

on a saying that is told in photography, but it makes you think deeper. Sadly, Avedon died on

October 1, 2004 in San Antonio, Texas. A very impactful event was his father’s death because

Avedon photographed him and made it into artwork to commemorate his dad. Fun facts about

Avedon include that he was a dropout of Columbia University, he joined the YMHA at 12 years,

his astrology sign was a Taurus, he was the founder of The Richard Avedon Foundation. More

facts about him is that he was married twice, he had schizophrenia, he had one child, and died at

81. Avedon overall was a very impactful photographer in fashion.