Irving Penn / Tennessee Williams, New York, 1951

2017 marked the centenary of the birth of Irving Penn (1917-2009), one of the great photographers of the 20th century. This exhibition, organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and The Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Grand Palais, in collaboration with The Irving Penn Foundation, is the first major retrospective of the American artist’s work in France since his death.

Irving Penn / Robert Rauschenberg, 2005

Irving Penn / Jean Cocteau

Irving Penn / Joan Miro and his daughter Dolores

Irving Penn / Running children, Morocco, 1951

After two generations of seeing his work on the covers of Vogue, one quickly forgets the breadth of his style and subjects. Beyond the portraits of highly celebrated people, from the famous stare of Picasso to the knowing pose of Jean Cocteau, the wit behind the portrait of Tennessee Williams, or T.S. Eliot, the anxiety in Robert Rauschenberg, the gathered Giacometti, the touching portrait of Joan Miro and his daughter Dolores, the iconic Miles Davis, the slightly frenzied Francis Bacon – the list seems endless – not to mention the entire roster of Hollywood’s inner circle which has often taken center stage, Penn pursued historical, street and travel photography with a candor and compassion which are rare; the still life and abstract photography with an eye of a true artist. This exhibition helps reinstate Penn’s more proper legacy to the grand public.

Irving Penn / American South, 1941

Irving Penn / Lacroix Duchess

Irving Penn / Bowery New York, 1939

Irving Penn / Mother and child Dahomey, 1967

“This exhibition looks back over his seventy-year career, with well over 200 photographic prints, all produced by the artist himself, as well as a selection of his drawings and paintings. The Irving Penn exhibition offers a comprehensive vision of the range of genres including fashion, still life, portraits, nudes, beauty, cigarettes and debris. With his fine arts background, Irving Penn developed a body of visual work that is defined by its elegant simplicity, a taste for minimalism and an astonishing rigor, evident from the studio to the darkroom, where he perfected his unique photographic prints.” –The Met

Irving Penn / Man lighting girl’s cigarette

Irving Penn / Young berber, Morocco, 1971

Irving Penn / Summer Sleep, New York, 1949

Irving Penn / Untitled, 1939-42, Graphite, watercolor

Organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and The Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Grand Palais, in collaboration with The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn / Grand Palais, Paris
September 21, 2017 – January 29, 2018
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