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Richard Avedon (1923-2004) Cyd Charisse, Evening d

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Gelatin silver print, printed 1981. Signed and numbered 39/50 in ink with title stamp and copyright credit reproduction limitation stamp dated in an unknown hand in ink on the verso. 17 1/2 x 23 3/4 in. (44.5 x 60.3 cm.) Provenance: Private Collection, New York Literature: Harper's Bazaar, October 1961, pp. 142-143; Metropolitan Museum of Art, Avedon Photographs 1947-1977, pl. 55 (1978 exhibition catalogue); International Center of Photography, Avedon Fashion 1944-2000, p. 179 (2009 exhibition catalogue)

***This same year [1961], Avedon married a stark, white horizonless background - which he often used in advertising - with a particularly energetic form of movement. His conception of the shape and use of movement on the page expanded when he photographed a fashion story on the dancer Cyd Charisse, one among a number of international film celebrities who modeled for him. Avedon took full advantage of her long-legged velocity as she pranced with graceful, sweeping steps in front of his camera. Focusing on her grand athleticism, Avedon discovered new dimensions to the art of movement in which the gorgeous, sinuous lines of the human body were animated by an exquisite form of motion. In one photograph of Charisse sailing across two pages in gauzy chiffon, Avedon began to distill his long-running affection for motion into a passionate, expansive, almost sculptural form that is beautiful and significant in its own right. Carol Squiers, "'Let's Call It Fashion', Richard Avedon at Harper's Bazaar", Avedon Fashion 1944-2000, p. 179.

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