I do confuse myself sometimes. Portraiture in painting bores the crap out of me, but portraiture in photography, done well mind, is so enthralling. I imagine being asked to be a subject for a portrait means you either have loads of wrinkles, look whacky or both.
Richard Avedon had been prolific in his portraiture, photographing big, influential figures from all the arts, literature, film, music, dance and artists and fellow photographers. His work is captivating in its intimacy.
The top image has the privilege of being my favourite portrait photograph ever. It sparked off an interest in Ezra Pound, the image's subject, that later affected an essay I was writing at the time. He appeared to be a wholly complex character, knowing many other affluent figures in literature and art, dealing with unsavoury characters like Wyndham Lewis, and personal heroes like Ernest Hemingway (even though many consider he was unsavoury too, I don't I think was he was cool).
The bottom image is of much-acclaimed and well-lauded director John Ford who Avedon captured immaculately his seeming impatience and stubbornness, which portrays Ford's personality wonderfully.
I'd recommend you to head to this website where you can see whole portfolios that are uncomparable: HERE
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