The Passing of an Icon: Irving Penn at 92

Christy Turlington, Vogue, Irving Penn 1988

Legendary photographer Irving Penn passed at the age of 92 today, the end of Paris Fashion Week. A life long workaholic, the first thing that comes to mind is the incredible body of work Penn has left behind for the world. After all, he started at Vogue in the 40's, contributing some 300 pages annually for decades on end and he can be credited for bringing models into the studio against clean, austere backdrops. He also developed a very stylized yet dignified & crisp way of photographing even the most banal of things from cigarette butts to the highly inventive food photographs that accompanied Jeffrey Steingarten's work in Vogue. We'll miss those bold still lifes that always gave Vogue a much needed, perverse punch.

P.S-who made Christy's jacket above? It's so right for today!

Street Findings, New York, Irving Penn 1999

Sweetie, Irving Penn 2002