Tag: Irving Penn

I didn’t read credits then — or, anyway, not at the start — but soon I realized that I was collecting the work of the photographer Irving Penn. It was his vision that I craved — that I still crave when I think about what photography can be. Whether Penn was shooting a nude, a glove or Truman Capote, he honored the truth of his subjects at a particular moment. He knew that just as a rose’s petals will fall, every moment will fade, but if the photo succeeds, de Kooning’s secrets will remain.

Mr. Penn’s talent for picturing his subjects with compositional clarity and economy earned him the widespread admiration of readers of Vogue during his long association with the magazine, beginning in 1943. It also brought him recognition in the art world; his photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries and are prized by collectors.