Irving Penn, the spare line
« American photographer (1917-2009), master of fashion and stripped-down portraiture at Vogue. »
Hired by Vogue in 1943, Irving Penn would sign over 165 covers. His trademark: a neutral grey or white backdrop, zenithal daylight from a north-facing window, subject posed without artifice. That spare line let him photograph a duchess, a street sweeper, Picasso, a crushed cigarette in the same way.
His Small Trades series (1950-1951) — tradesmen in working dress, photographed in Paris, London, New York — was a modern homage to Atget's Petits métiers. He also photographed macro flowers, deformed nudes, objects flung on the floor. An economy of means that never excludes mystery.
Married to the model Lisa Fonssagrives, whom he photographed until her death in 1992, Penn founded a New York studio where he worked until 91. His platinum prints, which he made himself, are among the most sought-after on the market. He died in 2009 in Manhattan.