Bio Born on June 16th, 1917 in Plainfield, New Jersey. Attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. Offered a job for Vogue Magazine in 1943. Worked for Alexey Brodovitch & Alexander Liberman, two of the most influential and inventive magazine directors.
Claim to Fame As his career began to blossom, he became known for his post WWII feminine chic and glamour photography. He was among one of the first photographers to pose subjects against a simple grey or white background, and take advantage of its simplicity. He often posed his subjects inside a tight acute corner, making them look crammed. Brought a strong dramatic feeling to his portraits guiding the viewer’s focus onto the subject and their expression.
Style Carefully arranged objects or people Careful use of light Portrays a playfulness in his subject’s expressions Places his subjects against a grey wall “Aristocratic” fashion photography
How to Make a Penn Photo Used a variety of cameras, techniques, and printing processes. Photographic enlargers and modified fresnel stage lights. Known for his platinum prints, but used gelatin silver prints to achieve different graphic results. Moving light: used at a narrow aperture over a long exposure time. Movement by the subject lead to distortion.
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 Woman with Roses (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn) La Faurie Dress, Paris, 1950, printed December 1975
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 Tennessee Williams, New York, February 13, 1951, printed 1983
EMULATION #2
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 Three Cretan Women, Crete, 1964, printed 1985
EMULATION #1
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 Willem de Kooning, Long Island, New York, September 26, 1983, printed 1984
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 Picasso at La Californie, Cannes, France, 1957, printed 1973
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 Jasper Johns (D), New York, November 18, 1983, printed 1984
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 Frederick Kiesler & Willem de Kooning, New York, May 4, 1960, printed June 1982
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 The Angel, New York, 1946, printed September 1990
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 Lorry Washers, London, 1950, printed January 1977
Irving Penn American, 1917–2009 The Hand of Miles Davis, New York, 1986, printed 1992
Citation "The Art Institute of Chicago." Permanent Collection Prints. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2015. <http://www.masters-of-p hotography.com/P/penn/penn_articles1.htmlhttp://>. Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 14 Apr. 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/irving-penn-40637>.