The Easel

20th October 2020

The Real Richard Avedon

Avedon craved art world respect but faced an array of prejudices – photography was a “bastard medium”; studio images were “less serious” than street photography. Eventually, his “visually radical” portrait photography conquered all. “His signature portrait style, the formality of a straight-on figure against a white backdrop, sober expression is … not only a document, but a monument of that individual”.

13th October 2020

A brief history of colour photography

Afficionados of colour photography will want more. For others, this piece usefully surveys who did what. Once Kodak developed Kodachrome film, pioneers in colour photography emerged. Some names are unfamiliar – Haas, Leiter, Christenberry. Eggleston looms large, widely seen as the person whose colour saturated images define the field. Missing is Vivian Maier whose reputation is skyrocketing, despite only recently being discovered (The Easel, Sept. 8).