Irving Penn: Centennial at The Met

published 21 April 2017

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(Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, promised gift of The Irving Penn Foundation. © The Irving Penn Foundation)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will welcome a three-month celebration and major retrospective of the world-renowned photographer, Irving Penn. The exhibition is set to be the most extensive exhibition of the late American photographer's work to date, and will showcase a selection of two hundred masterpieces as well as unknown prints from his vast collections, spanning over his nearly 70-year-long career.

Born in June 1917, the New Jersey native began his early photography work in haute couture, where he developed an eye for a unique aesthetic, defined by softly diffused silhouettes paired with minimal backdrops and meticulous detailing. Unusual angles and perceptions in his early imagery earned Penn his name as the master of unconventional fashion photography. His popularity and recognisable style cemented a long-standing relationship with Vogue magazine – a love affair with fashion editorial that lasted over six decades – with the magazine honouring him as one of the world’s most iconic fashion photographers for his influential work at the magazine during this time.

A true visionary and master of all trades, Penn's legacy will be thoroughly explored through some of his most famous photography themes and subjects. These encompass fashion and style, featuring classic images of Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn – his wife and former dancer who is credited as becoming the world's first supermodel – portraits of indigenous people in Cuzco, Peru and the Small Trades series – his tribute to the working classes. It also includes iconic portraits of some of the most important cultural figures of the 20th century from Truman Capote, Joe Louis and Picasso to choreographer Alvin Ailey, Ingmar Bergman and Joan Didion.