Michael Patrick Avedon (born January 16, 1991) is an American photographer living in New York City. Avedon works commercially as a

fashion photographer Fashion photography is a genre of photography which is devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items, sometimes haute couture. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking a picture of a dressed model in a photographic studio ...

and makes

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

for his personal work – including an ongoing series of artists in their studios. Avedon began experimenting with photography in 2006, and in 2012 was named in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

s "30 Under 30" list of up-and-coming artists. In the spring of 2013 he graduated from the

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP), at 79 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, consists of a museum for photography and visual culture and a school offering an array of educational courses and programming. ...

. He has worked for

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

, ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

,''

CR Fashion Book Carine Roitfeld (; born 19 September 1954) is a French fashion editor, former fashion model, and writer. She is the former editor-in-chief of ''Vogue Paris'', a position she held from 2001 to 2011. In 2012, she became founder and editor-in-chief ...

, and ''

Dazed ''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a bi-monthly British style magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. Dazed is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for producing ...

.'' He is the grandson of

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

on his father's side, and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan on his mother's side.

Early life

Michael Patrick Avedon was born in New York City to Maura Moynihan and John Avedon. From a young age, he was influenced by and participated in counter-culture movements such as

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboarde ...

ing,

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

, and punk rock music. He attended

York Preparatory School York Preparatory School commonly referred to as York Prep School, is an independent, university-preparatory school in the Upper West Side area of Manhattan, New York City, near Lincoln Square, Manhattan, Lincoln Square. The coeducational school p ...

on the Upper West Side from 7th through 12th grade. After graduating high school, Avedon spent two years studying at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

in downtown Manhattan. Subsequently, he transferred to the

, where he studied for an additional two years, graduating in the spring of 2013.

Work

Avedon has shot advertisements for ''Louis Vuitton'' and ''Calvin Klein'', and fashion editorials for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''CR Fashion Book'', ''Dazed & Confused'', '' VMAN'', '' Interview Russia'', ''Out of Order'', and ''

HERO A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

''. In March 2012, Avedon had his first fashion spread in ''V Man'', a fashion magazine edited by Stephen Gan. His first notable commercial assignment was a series of behind the scenes photographs at the 2012

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (french: Semaine de la mode de Paris) is a series of designer presentations held semiannually in Paris, France with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the French Fashion Federation. ...

, commissioned by

Carine Roitfeld Carine Roitfeld (; born 19 September 1954) is a French fashion editor, former fashion model, and writer. She is the former editor-in-chief of ''Vogue Paris'', a position she held from 2001 to 2011. In 2012, she became founder and editor-in-chief ...

's ''CR Fashion Book''. Avedon was subsequently asked to shoot for the magazine's debut issue (September 2012), as well as several following issues. He maintains an ongoing working relationship with Roitfeld, and returned to Paris Fashion Week in 2013 to shoot for her magazine. Throughout 2012 and 2013 Avedon has worked closely with

Jefferson Hack Jefferson Hack (born 1971 in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a Curator, Creative Director and co-founder of Dazed Media, an independent media company that produces stories across its print, digital and video brands. The company's portfolio includes fash ...

(founder of ''Dazed & Confused'', ''

Another Magazine ''Another Magazine'', styled ''AnOther'', is an international fashion and culture bi-annual. Founded in 2001, its Editor-in-Chief is Susannah Frankel, who joined in January 2016. Frankel had been Fashion Features Director of the magazine since ...

'' and ''

NOWNESS Nowness (stylized NOWNESS) is a digital video channel that was launched in 2010 by its founder Jefferson Hack as a brand of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.

''), and has shot several notable celebrities for ''Dazed & Confused'', including

Greta Gerwig Greta Celeste Gerwig (; born August 4, 1983) is an American actress, screenwriter, and director. She first garnered attention after working on and appearing in several mumblecore films. Between 2006 and 2009, she appeared in a number of films b ...

Nicolas Jaar Nicolas Jaar (; ; es, Nicolás; born January 10, 1990) is a Chilean-American composer and recording artist based in New York. Among his notable works are the albums ''Space Is Only Noise'' (2011), ''Sirens'' (2016), and '' Cenizas'' (2020). H ...

, and

Damien Echols Damien Wayne Echols (born Michael Wayne Hutchison; December 11, 1974) is an American writer, best known as one of the West Memphis Three, a group of teenagers convicted of a triple murder. Upon his release from death row in 2011 under an Alford p ...

, as well as a

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

cover story for ''Under the Influence'', and

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

for ''Interview Russia''. In July 2014 Avedon shot Lottie Moss (the younger half-sister of

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...

) for ''Calvin Klein''. The shoot took place in London and featured a '90s-inspired Calvin Klein Jeans capsule collection. In ways the shoot pays homage to the iconic 1980's advertisement shot and directed by Richard Avedon for Calvin Klein, featuring model Brooke Shields. In August 2014 Avedon shot

Emma Ferrer Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer (born May 1994) is an American artist and former model. Early life Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer was born in May 1994, in Morges, Switzerland, the daughter of producer Sean Hepburn Ferrer and Leila Flannigan. She is ...

(the granddaughter of

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...

) for ''Harper's Bazaar''. The shoot took place in Florence, where Ferrer has lived for the past six years. The concept, envisioned by Bazaar's editor-in-chief

Glenda Bailey Dame Glenda Adrianne Bailey DBE (born 16 November 1958) is a former editor-in-chief of ''Harper’s Bazaar'', a monthly fashion magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. She was in this position from May 2001 to 2020. Early life Bailey was ...

, was to create a tribute to the many popular photographs that Richard Avedon shot of Hepburn throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s. Both the clothing and poses were largely inspired by these past works. Joanna Hillman was the fashion editor on the shoot. The October 29 – November 11, 2018 issue of ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' magazine included a portfolio of Avedon's portraits of 25 survivors of school shootings, from a 1946 shooting at the Brooklyn High School For Automotive Trades to the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...

Personal work

Avedon's personal work has predominantly taken the form of portrait photography. Influenced by the extensive legacy of his grandfather's work, he has shot primarily in black & white, using 35mm and medium format film. His ongoing portrait project of artists have been intimate, close-up sittings, typically conducted in the artist's studio. Artists he has photographed for the project thus far include:

Chuck Close Charles Thomas Close (July 5, 1940 – August 19, 2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits using a very l ...

Richard Serra Richard Serra (born November 2, 1938) is an American artist known for his large-scale sculptures made for site-specific landscape, urban, and architectural settings. Serra's sculptures are notable for their material quality and exploration o ...

Francesco Clemente Francesco Clemente (born 23 March 1952) is an Italian contemporary artist. He has lived at various times in Italy, India and New York City. Some of his work is influenced by the traditional art and culture of India. He has worked in various art ...

Peter Beard Peter Hill Beard (January 22, 1938 – March 31 / April 19, 2020) was an American artist, photographer, diarist, and writer who lived and worked in New York City, Montauk and Kenya. His photographs of Africa, African animals and the journ ...

Julian Schnabel Julian Schnabel (born October 26, 1951) is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his "plate paintings" — with broken ceramic plates set onto large-scale paintings. Since the 1990s, he has been ...

, and

Terence Koh Terence Koh (born 1977 in Beijing, China ) is a Canadian artist who has also worked under the alias "asianpunkboy". The artist's work spans a range of media, including drawing, sculpture, video, performance, and the internet. Originally workin ...

. His maternal grandmother Elizabeth Moynihan has also been a recurring subject in his personal work. Avedon describes his work as "a mix of movement and energy".

References

External links

Michael Avedon Photography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avedon, Michael 1991 births Living people Photographers from New York City American people of Irish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent School of Visual Arts alumni 21st-century American photographers