Review: Richard Avedon’s Portraits of Aging Reveal the Vulnerability Behind Famous Faces

Key Takeaways

Avedon’s aging faces challenge a youth-obsessed culture, revealing unexpected beauty.
Portraits of presidents, royalty, and artists expose celebrity’s carefully constructed masks.

Old faces — some seem to crease and crumble as we watch — were a specialty for Richard Avedon (1923–2004), the photographer famous for his fashion work for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Revlon, and Elle, magazines not known for plugging geezers. I didn’t know this, so I learned something new in my first minutes in Richard Avedon Immortal: Portraits of Aging, 1951–2004, finishing its tour next month, when it goes to The Image Center in Toronto and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Avedon was a pioneer in presenting cool, stark, tough beauty — he gave us a nude Nastassja Kinski with a boa constrictor licking her earlobe, Brooke Shields in jeans, and lots of movie stars and potentates at their peaks. But old age? Shades of decadence are one thing, but decrepitude?

The Image Center is Canada’s premiere photography museum and part of Toronto Metropolitan University. The exhibition there is similar to Montreal’s edition and displays 100 Avedon portraits. Avedon died more than 20 years ago, and the show spans 50 years, so the subjects are from another era. That said, old age is timeless as well as time-limited. On view are superstars such as Gloria Swanson, , , and the Dalai Lama. Then there are the period pieces like , Oscar Levant, Ezra Pound, and Coco Chanel.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

Featured Tags

Key Takeaways

Avedon’s aging faces challenge a youth-obsessed culture, revealing unexpected beauty.
Portraits of presidents, royalty, and artists expose celebrity’s carefully constructed masks.
The portraits of his dying father raise enduring questions about artistic ambition, filial duty, and exploitation.

Old faces — some seem to crease and crumble as we watch — were a specialty for Richard Avedon (1923–2004), the photographer famous for his fashion work for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Revlon, and Elle, magazines not known for plugging geezers. I didn’t know this, so I learned something new in my first minutes in Richard Avedon Immortal: Portraits of Aging, 1951–2004, finishing its tour next month, when it goes to The Image Center in Toronto and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Avedon was a pioneer in presenting cool, stark, tough beauty — he gave us a nude Nastassja Kinski with a boa constrictor licking her earlobe, Brooke Shields in jeans, and lots of movie stars and potentates at their peaks. But old age? Shades of decadence are one thing, but decrepitude?

The Image Center is Canada’s premiere photography museum and part of Toronto Metropolitan University. The exhibition there is similar to Montreal’s edition and displays 100 Avedon portraits. Avedon died more than 20 years ago, and the show spans 50 years, so the subjects are from another era. That said, old age is timeless as well as time-limited. On view are superstars such as Gloria Swanson, , , and the Dalai Lama. Then there are the period pieces like , Oscar Levant, Ezra Pound, and Coco Chanel.