Irving Penn (June 16, 1917 – October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography.
Irving Penn studied under Alexey Brodovitch at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts) from which he graduated 1938. Penn's drawings were published by Harper's Bazaar and he also painted. As his career in photography blossomed, he became known for post World War II feminine chic an...
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Irving Penn (June 16, 1917 – October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography.
Irving Penn studied under Alexey Brodovitch at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts) from which he graduated 1938. Penn's drawings were published by Harper's Bazaar and he also painted. As his career in photography blossomed, he became known for post World War II feminine chic and glamour photography.
Penn worked for many years doing fashion photography for Vogue magazine, founding his own studio in 1953. He was among the first photographers to pose subjects against a simple grey or white backdrop and used this simplicity more effectively than other photographers. Expanding his austere studio surroundings, Penn constructed a set of upright angled backdrops, to form a stark, acute corner. Posing his subjects within this tight, unorthodox space, Penn brought an unprecedented sense of drama to his portraits, driving the...
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