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Richard Avedon Twiggy, Hair by Ara Gallant, Paris studio, January 1968 Gelatin silver print, printed 1981, flush-mounted to linen. 40 x 59.7 cm (15 3/4 x 23 1/2 in.) Signed and numbered 50/50 in ink, copyright credit reproduction limitation, title, date and edition stamps on the reverse of the flush-mount.
Provenance Gagosian Gallery, Rome Literature Avedon: Photographs, 1947-1977, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1978, pl. 127 Richard Avedon Evidence 1944-1994, New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1994, p. 150 R. Avedon and D. Arbus, The Sixties, London: Random House, 1999, pp. 2-3, colour variant Richard Avedon Woman in the Mirror, New York: Abrams, 2005, p. 130 D. Willis, Ara Gallant, Bologna: Damiani, 2010, pp. 10-11 Avedon: Murals & Portraits, New York: Gagosian Gallery, 2012, p. 16 M. Juul Holm, Richard Avedon Photographs 1946-2004, Humlebæk: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2014, n.p. Catalogue Essay ‘It was not so much about hair and much more about creation of a fantasy.’ Angelica Houston from the forward to Ara Gallant In 1965, Richard Avedon brought his talent for capturing fluid movement from the pages of Harper’s Bazaar to Vogue. There, he encountered Ara Gallant, one of the first hairstylists hired by Vogue for photo assignments, and the two forged a creative collaboration that earned them the nickname ‘Aradon’. While Avedon’s models leaped and jumped across the set, Gallant energised their hair to ensure the same intensity was present in every strand. Twiggy, Hair by Ara Gallant, Paris studio, January, 1968 (lot 26) marks the debut of Gallant’s ‘flying hair trick’ as captured in Avedon’s photographs. As Twiggy flips her head up towards the ceiling, her locks flow as though flying of their own accord. Two years later, the collaborative duo revisited this technique for Vogue US with Sophia Loren (lot 27). In this photograph, appearing at auction for the first time, Loren with closed eyes sensually shakes her head from side to side, her hair gracefully filling the entire frame. This illusion remained synonymous with Gallant and no one ever photographed it like Avedon did. Read More Artist Bio Richard Avedon American • 1923 - 2004 From the inception of Richard Avedon's career, first at Harper's Bazaar and later at Vogue, Avedon challenged the norms for editorial photography. His fashion work gained recognition for its seemingly effortless and bursting energy, while his portraits were celebrated for their succinct eloquence. "I am always stimulated by people," Avedon has said, "almost never by ideas." Indeed, as seen in his portraits — whether of famed movie stars or everyday people — the challenge for Avedon was conveying the essence of his subjects. His iconic images were usually taken on an 8 x 10 inch camera in his studio with a plain white background and strobe lighting, creating his signature minimalist style. Avedon viewed the making and production of photographs as a performance similar to literature and drama, creating portraits that are simultaneously intensely clear, yet deeply mysterious. View More Works