WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This fall, the Corcoran Gallery of Art will premiere a special exhibition, Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power, in conjunction with the presidential election season in Washington, D.C. Bringing together more than 200 of Richard Avedon's political portraits of the country's power elite for the first time, the Corcoran will present many rarely-seen and some never-before-exhibited or published photographs.
Richard Avedon, America's pre-eminent editorial portraitist and fashion photographer, photographed the faces of politics throughout his career. Juxtaposing images of elite government, media, and labor officials with counter-cultural activists and ordinary citizens caught up in national debates, Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power will explore a five-decade taxonomy of politics and power by one of the country's best-known artists.
"Richard Avedon is, undisputedly, the most important of American portrait photographers," said Paul Roth, curator of photography and media arts at the Corcoran. "At this moment, as we move toward an historic presidential election season in Washington, Avedon's political portraits seem utterly of the moment: an education on the last 50 years of our history and, at the same time, a vital lesson about power."
Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power will include photographs from the 1950's through the artist's death in 2004, displayed chronologically and grouped within Avedon's specific editorial projects.
Avedon, with unparalleled access afforded by his fame and his work for such magazines as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Egoiste and The New Yorker, photographed important figures of the American political scene throughout his career. In addition to single portraits commissioned to accompany magazine profiles, the artist made several extended photographic essays with political themes.
Among these, his groundbreaking 1976 portrait series "The Family" is most significant. Commissioned by Rolling Stone magazine, Avedon made 69 portraits depicting elected officials, government bureaucrats, lawyers and lobbyists, captains of industry and union leaders -- all representatives of the American political, military, media and corporate elite.
Avedon photographed people on both sides of the civil rights debate for his 1964 book Nothing Personal (1964), and in the late 1960s and early 1970s he documented the American anti-war movement and the war in Vietnam. In 1993, Avedon combined past work with new images for a nostalgic New Yorker photo-essay called "Exiles: The Kennedy Court at the End of the American Century." In 2004, the artist accepted a New Yorker commission to make portraits that would illustrate "a sense of the country" during a politically fractious time. While working on the project in Texas, Avedon suffered a cerebral hemorrhage; he died a short time later. "Democracy" was published by The New Yorker in incomplete form just before the election.
This exhibition traces one artist's fascination with the animating forces of American democracy. Seen together, the photographs comprise a kind of historical group portrait, showing key figures from a half-century of political life. They provoke questions about the complex motivations of portraitists and their subjects, who work -- sometimes at cross-purposes -- to depict or project an image that conveys personal history, character, ambitions, and ideals. Finally, they reveal an extraordinary career-long investigation into the complex nature of power. Surrounded by the faces of the powerful, leaders and ordinary citizens alike, the audience is itself empowered by the dialogue that results between those who use power to exercise control and those who seek it to affect change.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power is organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The exhibition is organized with the cooperation of The Richard Avedon Foundation, New York, and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco. It is sponsored by The PNC Financial Services Group.
EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
A catalogue, Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power, will accompany the exhibition. Published by Steidl, the hardcover book is 350 pages and includes essays from Paul Roth, Renata Adler and Frank Goodyear (see Catalogue Essay Bios press release). To purchase, visit the Corcoran Shop online at http://www.corcoran.org/shop.
HOURS
The Corcoran's hours of operation are as follows: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday (except Monday holidays). The hours of operation for the Corcoran's Cafe des Artistes are as follows: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday (see Cafe des Artistes press release).
TICKETS
Tickets to Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power cost $14 for adults, $12 for seniors/military and $10 for students. Tickets go on sale June 27 and are available at http://www.corcoran.org/ or http://www.ticketmaster.com/.
MEMBERSHIP
Members of the Corcoran Gallery of Art enjoy unlimited free access to Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power and to the museum's renowned permanent collection. They also receive special invitations to lectures, films, concerts and a dazzling array of social events. Additional benefits include valuable discounts at the Corcoran Shop, the casually elegant Cafe de Artistes, and courses at the Corcoran College of Art + Design.
Member Preview Day for Richard Avedon is Thursday, September 11 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, contact the membership office at (202) 639-1753 or membership@corcoran.org.
ABOUT THE CORCORAN
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, a privately funded institution, was founded in 1869 as Washington's first and largest non-federal museum of art. It is known internationally for its distinguished collection of historical and modern American art as well as contemporary art, photography, European painting, sculpture and the decorative arts. Founded in 1890, the Corcoran College of Art + Design is Washington's only four-year college of art and design offering BFA degrees in Photojournalism, Digital Media Design, Fine Art, Graphic Design and Photography; AFA degrees in Digital Media Design, Fine Art, Graphic Design and Photography; a five-year Bachelor of Fine Arts/Master of Arts in Teaching (BFA/MAT); and a two-year Master of Arts (MA) in Interior Design or History of Decorative Arts. The College's Continuing Education program offers part-time credit and non-credit classes for children and adults and draws more than 2,500 participants each year.
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