Richard Avedon. In the American West

The Recoletos Hall at the MAPFRE Foundation will host an exhibition from 6 June to 30 August organised in conjunction with the Cartier Bresson Foundation in Paris, with works on loan from The Richard Avedon Foundation, in which the portraits of inhabitants of the American West by the North American photographer can be admired in a project which marked his career.   

In the American West is the result of Avedon’s commission by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Texas, which consisted of travelling around the American West for five years (1979-1984) to photograph its inhabitants. Alone or in small groups, he photographed miners, cowboys, fair workers, sales people, ranchers, etc., always against a white background that highlighted their features, postures and expressions.  The result was a representation of the region and its people which stood out from the traditional images that romanticised the legend of  the American West.  The series became a reference in the history of photographic portraiture and one of the milestones in the photographer’s career.

Richard Avedon (New York, 1923 - San Antonio, Texas, 2004) pursued a career in photography from an early age. In addition to his outstanding work in the fashion world, in magazines, such as Harper’s Bazaar or Vogue, he also carried out other photographic projects in which he portrayed social and political issues, such as the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, among other current affairs.

Image Credit:

• Richard Avedon. Ronald Fischer, Beekeeper, Davis, California, 9 May, 1987 © The Richard Avedon Foundation