RICHARD AVEDON

In the summer of 1956, Avedon was in Paris consulting for Funny Face, the 1957 musical directed by Stanley Donen and starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire that was loosely based on Avedon’s own wildly improbable life. He briefly considered relinquishing his career in photography for film directing, and retained a lifelong fascination with Hollywood and the ideas and ideals that it represented.

With subjects including actors, directors, writers, producers, composers, and those who inspired its narratives, Avedon’s photographs embody both the allure and the power dynamics of Hollywood. Picturing defining figures from Marilyn Monroe and Katharine Hepburn to John Ford and Steven Spielberg, Avedon’s images consistently convey an extraordinary sense of intimacy and individuality. His subjects also reveal other facets of the film industry, capturing images of its financial brokers and its critics. Featuring photographs of four presidents, who all had extensive Hollywood connections, the exhibition highlights Hollywood as a uniquely potent political force, where reputations are made and mythologized.

Richard Avedon: Hollywood is designed by Cécile Degos and will coincide with Avedon, a documentary directed by Academy Award–winner Ron Howard that premiered at this year’s Festival de Cannes. This exhibition at Gagosian represents Avedon’s Hollywood as a profoundly American construct and a global cultural touchstone.