"Wise and ebullient." - Dwight Garner, The New York Times
The first definitive biography of Richard Avedon, a monumental
photographer of the twentieth century, from award-winning photography
critic Philip Gefter.
In his acclaimed portraits, Richard Avedon captured the iconic figures
of the twentieth century in his starkly bold, intimately minimal, and
forensic visual style. Concurrently, his work for Harper's Bazaar and
Vogue transformed the ideals of women's fashion, femininity, and
culture to become the defining look of an era. Yet despite his driving
ambition to gain respect in the art world, during his lifetime he was
condescendingly dismissed as a "celebrity photographer."
What Becomes a Legend Most is the first definitive biography of this
luminary--an intensely driven man who endured personal and professional
prejudice, struggled with deep insecurities, and mounted an existential
lifelong battle to be recognized as an artist. Philip Gefter builds on
archival research and exclusive interviews with those closest to Avedon
to chronicle his story, beginning with Avedon's coming-of-age in New
York between the world wars, when cultural prejudices forced him to make
decisions that shaped the course of his life.
Compounding his private battles, Avedon fought to be taken seriously in
a medium that itself struggled to be respected within the art world.
Gefter reveals how the 1950s and 1960s informed Avedon's life and work
as much as he informed the period. He counted as close friends a
profoundly influential group of artists--Leonard Bernstein, Truman
Capote, James Baldwin, Harold Brodkey, Renata Adler, Sidney Lumet, and
Mike Nichols--who shaped the cultural life of the American twentieth
century. It wasn't until Avedon's fashion work was exhibited at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in the late 1970s that he became a household
name.
Balancing glamour with the gravitas of an artist's genuine reach for
worldly achievement--and not a little gossip--plus sixteen pages of
photographs, What Becomes a Legend Most is an intimate window into
Avedon's fascinating world. Dramatic, visionary, and remarkable, it pays
tribute to Avedon's role in the history of photography and fashion--and
his legacy as one of the most consequential artists of his time.
