Library Journal Review

Avedon so successfully transcended the world of fashion photography (Vogue, Harper's Bazaar) that his photography became recognized as artwork. This catalog, published in conjunction with an exhibition touring Europe and the United States through 2009, includes 130 black-and-white and a handful of color reproductions of Avedon's fashion photographs, reportage, and portraits. The subjects of the portraits range from the very famous (e.g., Marilyn Monroe, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Beatles) to the unknown (e.g., "drifters," an oil-well worker, a beekeeper). There are six essays about Avedon's life and his work; curator Helle Crenzien's opening biographical sketch and essays by the book's editor, Holm, and gallery director Jeffrey Fraenkel (Richard Avedon: Made in France) are of special interest. Holm's essay adds context to Avedon's photographs of Ezra Pound and Bob Dylan, while Fraenkel's essay reviews details of a 2002 photo session in which Avedon and fellow photographer Lee Friedlander took portraits of each other. The text adds a new dimension to the individual photographs and to Avedon's work overall. Recommended for public and academic libraries with photography collections.--Valerie Nye, Coll. of Santa Fe, NM (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.