This is a blog post about a exhibit at TMU Image Centre by American photographer Richard Avedon (1923-2004) titled “Immortal: Portraits of Aging, 1951–2004”. This is just a small sampling of the almost 100 portraits hanging in the gallery.
Richard Avedon (1923-2004) was both a fashion and a portrait photographer. He produced thousands of portraits over his lifetime. He worked for many magazines including ‘Harpers Bazaar’, ‘Vogue’, and ‘The New Yorker’ and he was involved in many advertising campaigns for companies such as Calvin Klein (think of Brooke Shields in 1980) and Revlon (“The most unforgettable women in the world wear Revlon”). There are numerous books that feature collections of his photographs.
below: Lee Friedlander, photographer, 2002
In this exhibit most, if not all, of the portraits are of older people (hence the title of the exhibit) and many of them are well-known names.
In the 1960s Avedon started making studio portraits of civil rights workers, politicians, and cultural dissidents/activists. As his reputation grew his studio work expanded to include many other public figures and celebrities.
below: Dorothy Day, activist, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, 1969
below: Portraits of three men with American political connections, from left to right: Arthur Schlesinger, Clark Clifford, and Dean Rusk all taken in 1993.
below: W.H. Auden, poet, in a New York City snowstorm, 1960
below: Robert Flaherty, director, 1951
below: Avedon didn’t always center his subjects in the picture and in this case, even chopped off part of his face.
below: Souer Emmanuelle, nun, Paris, 1998
below: Vicente Escudero, flamenco dancer, 1955
below: Gloria Swanson, actor, 1980
below: Michelangelo Antonioni, director, and his wife Enrica, Rome,
below: Dr. Benjamin Spock and his wife Jane Cheney, 1969
Until 5 December 2026
as I walk Toronto 