The Work
The following is a small selection from the thousands of photographs that Richard Avedon took over the course of his sixty-year career. Avedon consistently worked across genres, encompassing portrait, reportage, and fashion photography. Click on an image for information about the photograph.
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Ronald Fischer, beekeeper, Davis, California, May 9, 1981
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The Comforts Portfolio, #02, A Fable in 24 Episodes, Montauk, New York, August 1995
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Debutante Cotillion, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 19, 1963
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Samuel Beckett, writer, Paris, France, April 13, 1979
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Suzy Parker and Robin Tattersall, coat by Dior, Place de la Concorde, Paris, August 1, 1956
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Zazi #13, street performer, Piazza Navona, Rome, July 27, 1946
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Myrna Sandoval, eighteen-year-old, and and her sister Claudia, fourteen-year-old, El Paso, Texas, April 20, 1982
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Veruschka, dress by Kimberly, New York, January 4, 1967
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Brandenburg Gate #8, Berlin, Germany, New Year's Eve, 1989
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Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, headed by Julian Bond, Atlanta, Georgia, March 23, 1963
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Jacqueline Delubac, Volpi Ball, Venice, Italy, August 31, 1991
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Gloria Vanderbilt, December 17, 1953
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Napalm victim, Saigon, South Vietnam, April 29, 1971
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Lauren Hutton, sweater by Van Raalte, Great Exuma, The Bahamas, October 1968
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Italy #16, Palermo, Sicily, September 3, 1947
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Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, physicist, Princeton, New Jersey, December 11, 1958
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Nastassja Kinski, actress, Los Angeles, June 14, 1981
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Interstate 95 #1, Newark, New Jersey, May 18, 1963
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Bob Dylan, singer, New York City, February 10, 1965
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Linda Evangelista, Versace Spring/Summer 1993 campaign, New York, November 9, 1992
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Volpi Ball #6, Venice, Italy, August 31, 1991
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The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Waldorf Astoria, suite 28A, New York, April 16, 1957
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Bianca Jagger, Hollywood studio, January 25, 1972
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Mental Institution #16, East Louisiana State Mental Hospital, Jackson, Louisiana, February 15, 1963
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Shirley Chisholm, U.S. Congresswoman, New York, 1976
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Evelyn Avedon, wife of Richard Avedon, Petit St. Vincent, French West Indies, December 20, 1969
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Catacombs #02, Palermo, Sicily, 1959
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Chet Baker, singer, New York, January 16, 1986
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Dovima with elephants, evening dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955
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Santa Monica Beach #9, September 30, 1963
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Alberto Giacometti, sculptor, Paris, March 6, 1958
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Wedding of Mr. and Mrs. H.E. Kennedy City Hall, New York, April 29, 1961
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Andy Warhol and members of The Factory, New York, October 30, 1969
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Kate Moss and Aya Thorgren, Versace Spring/Summer 1993 campaign, New York, November 12, 1992
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New York Life #11, Central Park, New York, November 17, 1949
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Boyd Fortin, thirteen-year-old rattlesnake skinner, Sweetwater, Texas, March 10, 1979
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Małgosia Bela and Gisele Bündchen, dresses by Dior, New York City, March 13, 2000
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Zazi #09, street performer, Piazza Navona, Rome, July 27, 1946
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Marian Anderson, singer, in the role of Ulrica in "Un Ballo in Maschera," New York City, June 30, 1955
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Francis Bacon, artist, Paris, April 11, 1979
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Natalia Semanova, Mouthpiece and Headphones by Tom Binns, New York, April 30, 1998
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Brandenburg Gate #17, Berlin, Germany, New Year's Eve, 1989
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George Bush, Director, CIA, Langley, Virginia, March 2, 1976
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Twiggy, hair by Ara Gallant, Paris, January 6, 1968
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New York Life #13, Harlem, New York, September 6, 1949
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Marilyn Monroe, actress, New York City, May 6, 1957
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The Comforts Portfolio, #04: A Fable in 24 Episodes, Montauk, New York, August 1995
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Santa Monica Beach #4, September 30, 1963
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Isak Dinesen, writer, Copenhagen, Denmark, April 9, 1958
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Stephanie Seymour, dress by Comme des Garçons, New York, May 10, 1992
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New York Life #9, Harlem, New York, March 23, 1949
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The Generals of the Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Convention, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., October 15, 1963
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Carmen (Homage to Munkacsi) Coat by Cardin, Place Francois-Premier, Paris, August, 1957
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Mental Institution #9, East Louisiana State Mental Hospital, February 15, 1963
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Truman Capote, New York, October 10, 1955
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Jean Shrimpton, evening dress by Galitzine, Hair by Alexandre, Paris, August 1965
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Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany, New Year's Eve 1989
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Katharine Graham, Chairman of the Board, the Washington Post Company, Washington, DC, March 11, 1976
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Penelope Tree, New York, June 1967
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Marella Agnelli, New York, December 16, 1953
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Cyd Charisse, dress by Macrini, New York, New York, June 9, 1961
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Italy #2, Trastevere, Rome, July 24, 1946
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Sandra Bennett, twelve-year-old, Rocky Ford, Colorado, August 23, 1980
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Suzy Parker, evening dress by Dior, Paris, August 1956
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Wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Mario Niles, City Hall, New York, June 3, 1961
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Andy Warhol, artist, New York, August 29, 1969
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Suzy Parker and Robin Tattersall, evening dress by Gres, Moulin Rouge, Paris, August 1957
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Italy #9 (Boy and Tree), Noto, Sicily, September 5, 1947
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Mike Bencich, Dan Ashberger, coal miners, Somerset, Colorado, August 29, 1980
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Jean Shrimpton, evening dress by Cardin, Paris, January 1970
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Mental Institution #3, East Louisiana State Mental Hospital, Jackson, Louisiana, February 15, 1963
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Janis Joplin, musician, Port Arthur, Texas, August 28, 1969
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Ingrid Boulting, coat by Dior, Paris studio, January 1970
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Cirque du Soleil: Les Freres Lev, New York City, May 20, 1995
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Linus Pauling, scientist, New York City, January 13, 1964
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Sunny Harnett and Alla, evening dresses by Balmain, Casino, Le Touquet, August 1954
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Italy #10, bellboy, Eden Rock Hotel, Taormina, Sicily, 1947
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Perry Smith, murderer of "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote, Garden City, Kansas, April 1960
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Dick Hickock, murderer of "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote, Garden City, Kansas, April 1960
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China Machado, evening pajamas by Galitzine, London, January 20, 1965
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Mental Institution #6, East Louisiana State Mental Hospital, Jackson, Louisiana, February 15, 1963
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Killer Joe Piro, dance teacher, New York, January 3, 1962
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Małgosia Bela, body jewelry by Tom Binns, New York, March 2000
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Italy #17, Venice, August 10, 1948
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Adam Clayton Powell, congressman, New York City, March 6, 1964
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Veruschka, dress by Bill Blass, New York, January 4, 1967
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Suzy Parker and Mike Nichols, coat by Saint Laurent, The American Hospital, Paris, August 1962
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Jasper Johns, artist, New York, April 29, 1976
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The Vicomtesse Jacqueline de Ribes with Raymundo de Larrain, New York, May 15, 1961
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Mental Institution #19, East Louisiana State Mental Hospital, February 15, 1963
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Ezra Pound, poet, at the home of William Carlos Williams, Rutherford, New Jersey, June 30, 195894.151,
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Sophia Loren, hair by Ara Gallant, New York, October 2, 1970
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New York Life #17, Fifth Avenue, New York, October 26, 1949
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Carol Crittendon, bartender, Butte, Montana, July 1, 1981
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Shoe by Perugia, Place du Trocadéro, Paris, August 1948
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New York Life #2, Harlem, New York, September 6, 1949
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Commander Alan Shepard, astronaut, Langley Field, Virginia, March 31, 1961
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Audrey Hepburn and Art Buchwald, with Simone D’Aillencourt, Frederick Eberstadt, Barbara Mullen, and Dr. Reginald Kernan, evening dresses by Balmain, Dior, and Patou, Maxim's Paris, August 1959
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New York Life #19, Central Park West, New York, November 17, 1949
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Robert Rauschenberg and Alex Hay, artists, New York, January 19, 1965
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Penelope Tree, evening dress by Lanvin, hair by Ara Gallant, Paris, January 24, 1968
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Italy #15, Palermo, Sicily, September 2, 1947
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Lew Alcindor, basketball player, 61st Street and Amsterdam Avenue, New York, May 2, 1963
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The Comforts Portfolio, #10: A Fable in 24 Episodes, Montauk, New York, August 1995
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Cirque du Soleil: Christian Racoux, New York City, May 20, 1995
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Dorothy Parker, writer, New York, June 17, 1958
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Brigitte Bardot, hair by Alexandre, Paris, January 27, 1959
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Malcolm X, civil rights leader, New York City, March 27, 1963