The following is a small selection from the thousands of photographs that richard avedon took over the course of his sixtyyear career. Dovima with elephants, 1955 richard avedon, from the photography book as we further expand our fashion list it seems like an opportune moment to take a look at the fashion photography of richard avedon, specifically dovima with elephants, his infamous fashion photograph taken in paris in august 1955. Dovima with elephants, 1955 richard avedon, from the. Dovima with elephants evening dress by dior, cirque dhiver, paris, august 1955. Richard avedon, dovima with the elephants, evening dress by dior, 1955, paris. Dovima with elephants, evening dress by dior cirque dhiver, paris, august, 1955, published in american harpers bazaar, september 1955.
I would rather spend a week with wild elephants than a week with dovima and avedon combined. It is inscribed inplate along the upper edge with additional information. Dovima with elephants is a photograph made by richard avedon in 1955. Dovima with elephants, evening dress by dior, cirque dhiver, august 1955 this photo by richard avedon is wellknown for a reason. Richard avedon dovima with the elephant richard avedon. Richard avedon 19232004 was an american photographer. Dorothy virginia margaret juba december 11, 1927 may 3, 1990, professionally known as. When richard avedon photographed dovima at a paris circus in 1955 for harpers bazaar, both were already prominent in their fields. Richard avedon may 15, 1923 october 1, 2004 was an american fashion and portrait. Avedon fashion 19442000 encompasses seven decades of extraordinary images by richard avedon, the most influential fashion photographer of the 20th. Last week, i found it in a book on avedon s photography and it unnerved me all over again.
It was made for the tour of avedons 1978 metropolitan museum of art fashion retrospective. Richard avedon was born on may 15, 1923 in new york city. Richard avedon has 45 books on goodreads with 11529 ratings. An obituary published in the new york times said that his fashion and portrait photographs helped define americas image of style, beauty and culture for the last halfcentury. Richard avedons in the american west is widely regarded as a landmark project in photographic history and a.
Hes known equally for his eerie portrait of the beecovered man, and the iconic fashion photo of supermodel dovima with elephants. He attended dewitt clinton high school in the bronx, where he coedited the schools literary magazine, the magpie, with james. Dovima with elephants, taken in 1955, was the first thing i saw. Somehow, the name richard avedon always rings a bell. Richard avedon dovima with elephants 1955 available.
Dovima with elephants, evening dress by dior, cirque d. Depicted is an elegant young woman standing between two majestic elephants. Richard avedon 19232004 was born and lived in new york city. At the time, the contrast between the dirty elephants and the clean, elegant model was unheard of. Dovima with elephants, evening dress by dior, cirque dhiver, paris. Dovima with elephants evening dress by dior, cirque dhiver, paris. Dovima with elephants richard avedon amateur photographer. The present lot is the largest print of this photograph in existence. Together with contemporaries cecil beaton 190480, norman parkinson 1990, irving penn 19172009 and yousuf karsh 19082002, the american artist richard avedon was one of the greatest photographers in fashion and. Richard avedon, dovima with elephants, evening dress by dior. Although richard avedons celebrated fashion photographs have graced the pages of harpers bazaar, vogue, and life, the artist primarily referred to himself as a portrait photographer. A personal book called nothing personal, with a text by his high school classmate. Find art you love and shop highquality art prints, photographs, framed artworks and posters at.
Avedon continued to work for harpers bazaar until 1965. Richard avedon dovima with elephants 1955 at 1stdibs. How richard avedon redefined beauty with dovima with. Dovima 19271990 was reputed to be the highestpaid model of her time. It makes sense, then, that dovima with elephants is one of the most famous fashion photographs of all time. See more ideas about richard avedon, richard avedon photography and portrait. Dovima with elephants was one in a series of pictures avedon began making in paris in 1947, the year of christian diors new look, when the city of lights was again shining as the center of the. Richard avedon chronicled the latter half of the twentieth century with powerful portraits of artists, intellectuals, political figures, and events of the time. Value framing, fast delivery, 100% satisfaction guarantee. This photo by richard avedon is wellknown for a reason. His interest in photography began at an early age, and he joined the young mens hebrew association ymha camera club when he was twelve years old. Dovima with the elephants evening dress by dior, cirque. Published in american harpers bazaar, september 1955 museum number ph. In august 1955, richard avedon set up an ambitious fashion shoot that was intended to showcase new work by french fashion designer christian dior.
Find an indepth biography, exhibitions, original artworks for sale, the latest news, and sold auction prices. On the phaidon photography website it says of dovima and the elephants if you. How richard avedon redefined beauty with dovima with elephantsand what happened next the queensborn model dovima became the template for high fashion in the 1950s, before her american. In 2017 time magazine canonized avedon s dovima with elephants as one of the 100 most influential images of all time, the only fashion image to be. Bid now on dovima with elephants, evening dress by dior, cirque dhiver, paris, august by richard avedon. Influenced by brodovitchs teachings, the book mixed portraits of celebrities. In this video were going to do another one photo deep dive and discuss richard avedons seminal 1955 image, dovima with elephants. In a career spanning six decades, he turned fashion photography into an art form and reinvented the genre of photographic portraiture. Books by richard avedon author of richard avedon portraits. Dovima with elephants was taken in 1955 at the cirque dhiver in paris, wearing the first evening gown designed for christian dior by his new assistant, yves saintlaurent. Dovima with elephants is widely regarded as one of the most iconic fashion photograph of the 20th century. A reproduction exhibition poster featuring a photograph after richard avedon titled dovima with elephants circa 1955.
Avedons fashion shots are profoundly dramatic and dynamic, often capturing the model in motion. Artists constantly push the boundaries, and society as a whole is not as conservative as we were in the 1950s. Richard avedon was an influential american fashion and fine art photographer. View a wide variety of artworks by richard avedon, now. In the 1950s, avedon, himself, was an unconventional fashion photographer, preferring to show his models full of emotion and in outdoor settings. Dovima is as chained as are the elephants, lifting her right leg on a command by avedon. Avedon had stated that he was going for a dreamlike quality in the image, and indeed, over sixty years since it was first taken, dovima with elephants remains a surreal, timeless icon. She worked closely with richard avedon, whose photograph of her in a floorlength. Richard avedon may 15, 1923 october 1, 2004 was an american fashion and portrait photographer.
An obituary published in the new york times said that. The very thorough analysis of dovima with elephants. Reproduction exhibition poster after richard avedons. Photograph by david seymour magnum to people who are only casually interested in such matters, fashion is. Richard avedon at the tuileries gardens in paris, france, 1956. Richard avedon 1923 2004 was an american fashion and portrait photographer. Richard avedon has transformed fashion photography and portraiture alike, creating an instantly identifiable aesthetic which has influenced countless others. See available photographs, prints and multiples, and paintings for sale and learn about the artist. She was one of the worlds most famous models, and he was one of the most famous fashion photographers.
His mother, anna avedon, came from a family of dress manufacturers, and his father, jacob israel. Avedon consistently worked across genres, encompassing portrait, reportage, and fashion photography. This is an extremely significant image shot by a young, 32 year. Along with his own acquaintances and various ordinary people, avedon took.
Dovima with elephants, 1995 by richard avedon on curiator, the worlds biggest collaborative art collection. Dovima with elephants, evening dress by dior, cirque dhiver, paris, august 1955. Get the book on amazon avedon fashion 19442000 encompasses seven decades of extraordinary images by. Dovima and the elephants by richard avedon this challenging, discomforting photograph intrigued me as a young girl, its beauty and its cruelty both. Avedon recognised its importance and displayed a large print of the image in the entrance to his studio for more than 20 years.
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