Overview
Photographer Irving Penn (b. 1917) is renowned for his innovative contributions to portrait, still life, and fashion photography, and a career that has spanned more than six decades at Vogue magazine. In 1950, Vogue assigned Penn to photograph workers in Paris, and thus his monumental work The Small Trades began. Created in 1950 and 1951 in Paris, London, and New York, The Small Trades consists of portraits of skilled trades people dressed in their work clothes and carrying the tools of their respective trades. Capturing the humble coal heaver and the crisply dressed waiter with equal directness, Penn's arresting portraits also underscore fascinating cultural differences.
The Small Trades was Penn's most extensive body of work, and he returned to it over many decades, producing ever more exacting prints. Two hundred and six unique images from the series are flawlessly reproduced in this book. In addition, the introductory essay describes the history and context of The Small Trades series and its importance to Penn's career and the history of photography. An interview with Edmonde Charles-Roux, the chief editor for French Vogue from 1952 to 1966, who assisted him on the assignment in Paris, provides fascinating insights of the Paris sittings. An exhibition of the series will be on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum from September 9, 2009, through January 10, 2010.
Synopsis
Photographer Irving Penn (b. 1917) is renowned for his innovative contributions to portrait, still life, and fashion photography, and a career that has spanned more than six decades at Vogue magazine. In 1950, Vogue assigned Penn to photograph workers in Paris, and thus his monumental work The Small Trades began. Created in 1950 and 1951 in Paris, London, and New York, The Small Trades consists of portraits of skilled trades people dressed in their work clothes and carrying the tools of their respective trades. Capturing the humble coal heaver and the crisply dressed waiter with equal directness, Penn's arresting portraits also underscore fascinating cultural differences.
The Small Trades was Penn's most extensive body of work, and he returned to it over many decades, producing ever more exacting prints. Two hundred and six unique images from the series are flawlessly reproduced in this book. In addition, the introductory essay describes the history and context of The Small Trades series and its importance to Penn's career and the history of photography. An interview with Edmonde Charles-Roux, the chief editor for French Vogue from 1952 to 1966, who assisted him on the assignment in Paris, provides fascinating insights of the Paris sittings. An exhibition of the series will be on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum from September 9, 2009, through January 10, 2010.
Library Journal
Irving Penn (1917-) is best known as a Vogue fashion photographer who creates a sense of drama in his pictures with a masterly use of natural lighting. Many books have covered Penn's phases of portraiture, fashion, and still-life photography; however, this exhibition catalog by Heckert and Lacoste, an associate curator and an assistant curator, respectively, at the J. Paul Getty Museum, is the first to focus on his "small trades" series from 1950 and 1951. These portraits of common workers like chimney sweeps, window washers, policemen, and riveters in New York, London, and Paris are all black-and-white, full-body portraits that may be viewed at the Getty through January 10, 2010. The authors contextualize the images via a discussion of Penn's career and his work on the small trades project. An interview with author and former French Vogue editor Edmonde Charles-Roux recounts her talks with Penn about the project at the time it was completed. VERDICT The book's major strengths are the full-page presentation of the photos and the complete catalog at the end. Photographers and students of photography and art history will appreciate the most.—Eric Linderman, Euclid P.L., OH\