Richard AVEDON (1993), above

“Of all his portraits and self-portraits, this is the most authentic,” says former colleague Kara Glynn. “Dick always invited his subjects into his world and then proceeded to capture their essence, the truth or his truth—or as he used to say (in jest), ‘Steal their soul.’ Dick invites us into his world in this photograph. Literally. I love this image for its truth.”

Anjelica HUSTON (1972)

“I was furious when Dick told me he had decided to publish this portrait—I thought it desperately unflattering! Now, of course, I see it for what it is—intimate and unapologetic—pure Avedon.”

Tom FORD (2002)

“I was photographed by Irving Penn that morning and then Avedon in the afternoon. The photographic styles of the two could not have been more different. Penn looked and looked at every angle of my face and tried to make me feel uncomfortable so that in the end he would capture something that I would not normally present to the world.… Avedon, on the other hand, wanted me to feel absolutely comfortable.”

Marian ANDERSON (1955)

“Each and every time I see this photo, it moves me,” says Harper’s Bazaar editor in chief Samira Nasr. “Avedon was masterful because he could also seemingly effortlessly capture honesty and emotion. In 1955, the same year this photo was taken, Marian Anderson became the first Black opera singer to perform a lead role at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. This photo captures beauty, emotion, and the possibilities that come with freedom.”

Stephen Sondheim (2004)

In this portrait, says musician Mark Ronson, “he’s 74 and unquestionably the greatest living American composer…with a ‘Whaddayouwanna take this guy’s picture for?’ look about him. It appears he might not have wanted to stay long enough to take his coat off, but he’s obviously there out of his reverence for the photographer.”

Shirley CHISHOLM (1976)

“The first Black woman elected to Congress, and the first Black candidate to run for a major party’s nomination for president, [she] campaigned as the unbought and unbossed ‘Fighting Shirley Chisholm,’ which is exactly how Avedon photographed her,” says Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Portraits and text adapted and excerpted from Avedon 100, to be published May 4 by Gagosian and distributed by Rizzoli. Copyright © 2023.