The Penetrating Portraits of Irving Penn

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
May 3rd 2010 at 2:01PM

What do Pablo Picasso, Duke Ellington, Marlene Dietrich, Francis Bacon, Truman Capote, Helmut Newton and Jasper Johns have in common? All are featured in a brilliant new book of portraits by the late, great master of photography Irving Penn, who sought to capture the true persona behind the facade of famous figures. Published by the National Portrait Gallery in London in conjunction with an exhibition running at the museum through June 6, Irving Penn: Portraits features images brought together from major international collections for the exhibit. It includes a selection of superb reproductions from the exhibition's 120 silver and platinum prints, ranging from Penn's portraits for Vogue magazine in the 1940s to some of his last work prior to his death last year.

Tags: art books, coffee table books, ehibition, Francis Bacon, Irving Penn, London, museum, photographer, photography, UK, Vogue