December 14, 2015

Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty at Smithsonian American Art Museum, October 23, 2015 – March 20, 2016

“Irving Penn (1917–2009) was one of the twentieth century’s most prolific and influential photographers of fashion and the famous. His pictures, a unique blend of classical elegance and formal innovation, were widely seen in print during his long career at Vogue magazine. His achievement, however, extends beyond conventional notions of depicting beauty or fame to include a radical reconsideration of how we understand fashion and art, both separately and in relation to each other.” — Smithsonian American Art Museum

penn_beauty_shop

Irving Penn, Beauty Shop, New York, 1939, printed 2001, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Promised gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_young_boy

Irving Penn, Young Boy, Pause Pause, American South, 1941, printed 2001, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_dali

Irving Penn, Salvador Dali, New York, 1947, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_girl_behind_bottle

Irving Penn, Girl Behind Bottle (Jean Patchett), New York, 1949, printed 1978, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_woman_in_moroccan_palace

Irving Penn, Woman in Moroccan Palace (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn), Marrakech, 1951, printed 1969, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist. Copyright © Condé Nast

penn_enga_woman

Irving Penn, Sitting Enga Woman, New Guinea, 1970, printed 1986, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_mud_glove

Irving Penn, Mud Glove, New York, 1975, printed 1976, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_capote

Irving Penn, Truman Capote, New York, 1979, printed 1983, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_frozen_foods

Irving Penn, Frozen Foods, New York, 1977, printed 1984, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_mouth

Irving Penn, Mouth (for L’Oréal), New York, 1986, printed 1992, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Promised gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_miyake

Irving Penn, Issey Miyake Fashion: White and Black, New York, 1990, printed 1992, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_bee

Irving Penn, Bee, New York, 1995, printed 2001, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Promised gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_head_in_ice

Irving Penn, Head in Ice, New York, 2002, printed 2003, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © Condé Nast

penn_rooster

Irving Penn, Red Rooster, New York, 2003, printed 2007, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © The Irving Penn Foundation

penn_ball_dress

Irving Penn, Ball Dress by Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci, New York, 2007, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. Copyright © Condé Nast

Images courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum