A Legend in his Lifetime, Irving Penn, Passes Away at 92
What a sad day. Irving Penn, the godfather of Vogue Magazine, the meticulous and miraculous photographer passed away yesterday morning at the ripe old age of 92. Few artists are truly appreciated to the extent they deserve in their lifetimes, Irving Penn was one of the exceptions. And rightfully so. He was one of the small pantheon of American photographers whose images illustrate our history and our humanity. Although his work spanned different cultures and subcultures the connectivity of light and a seamless backdrop somehow unifies his work and seemingly unifies the subject matter. Whether it was his wife and famed fashion model Lisa Fonssagrives, hippies from San Francisco, famous writers like Truman Capote, the children of Cuzco, Peru, warriors of New Guinea, detritus off the street, or all of wonderful food photography he did for Vogue most recently, his work shows a delicate hand and a quiet sincerity that speaks for itself. By extracting the subject from his natural habitat, Penn somehow coaxed out his sitters’ truest essence. A chewed up paper cup can be poetic and Picasso can seem timid. In front of a master, anything seemed possible. His extensive work with platinum and palladium print processes only showed him to be what he always thought of himself as, a worksman and maker of images. As he so elegantly put it, “A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.” In my opinion, and in the opinion of most, Irving Penn was very much an effective photographer. He will be mourned, missed, celebrated and venerated. Rest in peace, and thank you, Mr. Penn.
Irving Penn
1917-2009
Irving Penn, photographed by John Rawlings, 1945
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…All photos, except where noted, Irving Penn…
xoxo
-Pebbles van Peebles
