Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer most famous for his fashion photography and minimalist portraits. An obituary published in The New York Times said that "his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century". Avedon began his career as a photographer shooting for fashion magazine Haper's Bazaar, but over the course of his career came be on of the most sort after photographer for some of the biggest names of the 20th century including artists, politicians, writers and celebrities such as Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Twiggy to name a few. 



This photo of Marilyn Monroe is one of Avedon's most famous photographs. The story goes that Monroe danced a flirted with the camera for hours but Avedon still hadn't got the perfect shot that he was after, after hours of performing for the camera she sat down on a chair in the corner of the room exhausted and that's when Avedon got the shot he was after.

The plain backdrop works perfectly in contrast with Monroe's outfit, the bright sparkly sequins against the dull plain wall creates the perfect juxtaposition. Had the backdrop not been so plain the image would not have had the same effect, it would have appeared too busy and chaotic; whereas this minimalistic approach draws the attention to her facial expression and the contrast between her dress and he face. She has this defeated almost child-like expression on her face while wearing this grownup dress, almost like a little girl playing dress up.

According to Avedon
"There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe," "Marilyn Monroe was someone Marilyn Monroe invented, like an author creates a character."
The use of natural light and the fact that this was a candid shot evokes a feeling of familiarity as though it lets the viewer in. The look of exhaustion on her face allows people to get a brief glimpse of Norma Jean, the real person and not the character Marilyn Monroe.