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IRVING PENN (American, b. 1917) twelve of the most photographed MODELS of the period signed and d...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:20,000.00 - 30,000.00 USD
IRVING PENN (American, b. 1917) twelve of the most photographed MODELS of the period signed and d...
IRVING PENN
(American, b. 1917)
twelve of the most photographed MODELS of the period
signed and dated “Irving Penn 1947”
in black ink below image on recto
personally dedicated “Affectionate souvenir Four friends among these lovely ladies
and of pleasant evenings I.P. for Simpson/New York 1949” in ink on verso
2 “PHOTOGRAPHY BY PENN” stamps
in ink on verso
CondÈ Nast copyright stamp in ink on verso
gelatin silver print mounted on board
13 x 1515?16 in. (33 x 40.5 cm)
mount: 189?16 x 213?16 in. (47.1 x 53.8 cm)
1947
ESTIMATE: $20,000-30,000
PROVENANCE
Private Collection
LITERATURE
THE AMERICAN CENTURY: OBSERVATIONS AND METAPHORS: [PART 2: 1936-1967], NEW YORK, James Danziger Gallery, 1998, pl. 45 (illustrated)
By 1947, the second year after his return to the Vogue studios from service in the war, Irving Penn’s signature style emerged, no better exemplified than by Twelve of the Most Photographed Models of the Period.
Penn’s spare style represented a radical new direction from most fashion magazine images of the time, which were heavily ornamented and embellished. By using a plain, industrial backdrop, Penn called attention to the artificiality of the enterprise of the fashion shoot, but in a celebratory sense, by putting the viewer’s focus precisely on the lovely reality of the clothes. The austere setting, in combination with the naturalistic lighting effect, allowed the subtle differences in every seam, texture, drape and outline to emerge.
In this iconic photograph, each individual model’s pose draws the eye without adding visual chaos as would occur in a more embellished setting. Here, the image is stabilized and grounded by the two balanced, equally weighted groups of models. Each model is obviously posed, yet the photograph conveys a mood of relaxation typically not associated with the couture it showcases.
Although Penn’s earliest images were created expressly for the page rather than the print, “those who know Penn’s work only from reproductions in books and magazines will have little idea of the impact of his work in the original; his prints have a monumentality, clarity, and sensitivity to tonality that are uniquely his” (Merry A. Foresta and William F. Stapp, Irving Penn Master Images, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1990).