Fashion, Celebrity, and SF’s Summer of Love: Exploring Irving Penn’s Retrospective at the de Young Museum

Sartorialists are anticipated to converge at the de Young museum this spring for yet another noteworthy addition to the string of blockbuster fashion exhibitions. However, the Irving Penn retrospective transcends mere fashion spectacle, delving deep into the profound impact of the renowned photographer’s legacy beyond the glossy pages of Vogue.

Hailing from New Jersey, Penn reshaped the landscape of fashion and celebrity photography over his illustrious six-decade career as an art director and contributor at Conde Nast’s prestigious publication. In the post-World War II era, he revolutionized the industry by eschewing the elaborate artificial lighting and cluttered backgrounds that dominated portraiture of the time.

Opting instead for monochromatic backdrops and masterful manipulation of natural light, Penn pioneered a minimalist aesthetic that has since become intrinsic to the genre. His distinctive style has left an indelible mark, rendering fashion and celebrity photography without his influence almost unimaginable.

“Irving Penn is a towering figure in 20th-century photography, whose portraits and still lifes have left an indelible mark on the medium,” remarks Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

In their latest exhibition, the de Young museum curates approximately 175 of Penn’s most iconic photographs, spanning his nearly seven-decade-long career. Among these treasures are portraits of some of the most notable figures of the mid-20th century: a radiant Audrey Hepburn clad in a simple black sweater, surrealist master Salvador Dali exuding charisma in a commanding seated pose, and a vulnerable Joe Louis, the champion boxer, captured in a moment of exhaustion.

While Penn’s work in fashion and celebrity photography may be his most celebrated, the retrospective at the de Young unveils the true breadth of the photographer’s talents. In 1948, a journey to Cuzco, Peru, led to a series of images that imbued everyday individuals in traditional attire with the same reverence as models in haute couture. In the late 1960s, Penn ventured once more into ethnographic photography, this time in Papua New Guinea, Benin, and Morocco, capturing images that navigate the delicate balance between the colonial gaze, cultural authenticity, and universal beauty.