Exhibit Brings Richard Avedon into Focus

Glamorous and candid, ghosts of 20th century celebrity stare back from the walls of the in Roslyn, thanks to the photography exhibit:

Now on display through Sept. 4, the works span Avedon’s career, from intricate set pieces evoking high fashion to famous subjects stripped bare in searing portraits.

Audrey Hepburn beams while Ezra Pound crackles. The contrast couldn’t be more profound.

“He made great efforts to capture something of the personality and some insight into the character of the people he was photographing,” said NCMA Director Dr. Karl Emil Willers, who helped bring the Avedon photo exhibit east from the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Ariz. “Especially when they were very famous people and their images were familiar – their glamorized images were extremely familiar – to the general public. His portraits capture intimate moments.”

Richard Avedon (1923-2004) was born in New York City and went to high school in the Bronx before embarking on a seven-decade run as an influential photographer. He worked for fashion magazines Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, and later in life, The New Yorker. Perhaps fittingly, Avedon died while on assignment in San Antonio for New Yorker.

“Avedon is mostly known as a New York photographer, but travelled the world during his career,” Willers said. “He’s especially known for his photography in the 1950s in Paris. With the Paris New Look that appeared after World War II – especially fashions by Dior and other major fashion houses – he documented a lot of that for Harper’s Bazaar and later for Vogue.”

In addressing the crowd on hand for Friday’s opening reception, Nassau County Museum of Art President H. Brooks Smith highlighted the Avedon exhibit as the centerpiece of what he hopes is a strong summer season at the 145-acre property.

NCMA has plenty of events planned to keep the exhibit fresh, beginning with a the 1957 classic starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire – and based loosely on Avedon’s life – June 4 at sunset on the lawn. It’s part of the , which runs at area theaters May 31-June 4.

Other events include:

Interactive family tours of the Avedon exhibition, after which children and their family members will collaborate on drawing family portraits. Portrait photographer Sol Aramendi will be on hand. June 12, 12-3 p.m. 

Bring a sandwich and listen as a docent speaks on the work of Richard Avedon and his impact on fashion and portrait photography. June 16, July 21 and Aug. 18, 1 p.m. 

Fashion design professor at Parsons The New School for Design discusses some of the glamorous women who collaborated with Avedon. June 26, 3 p.m.

Paul Roth Speaks: Executive director of the Richard Avedon Foundation has described Avedon as a "whirling dervish of a photographer." July 16 at 3 p.m.