Death Of A Master ~ Irving Penn Dies at the age of 92








" A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. "

~Irving Penn~



Irving Penn, one of the 20th century’s most prolific and influential photographers of fashion and the famous, whose signature blend of classical elegance and cool minimalism was recognizable to magazine readers and museum goers worldwide, died Wednesday morning at his home in Manhattan. He was 92.(quoted from New York Times)

Irving Penn
has always been my favourite photographer. His strong graphic images struck a cord with me at a young age. I picked up his book "Passages" when it was first available and still look at it often. All his images are iconic from the portraits of high fashion models and celebrities to his fantastic mud people images to the found objects like cigarette butts ~ Pure genius. Often copied but never matched Irving Penn was a true master

While still studying photography in College, I assisted a food and product shooter who would receive Polaroids from Irving Penn for art direction. (pre-digital days) We were shooting Clinique ads and Penn would set up the composition of the bottles and shoot it at the angle he desired and then forwarded the Polaroid to the photographer. The photographer would then carry out Penn's vision. I wish I had one of those Polaroids! He will be missed.

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