Still Life With Watermelon, 1947

Irving Penn’s 70-year career is celebrated in “Irving Penn: Centennial” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. From modern old master still lifes of the 40s for Vogue to his painted lips for L’Oréal in 1986, from impossibly chic shots of wife Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn to inventive portraits of celebrities and tradesmen alike, this show demonstrates Penn’s life-long precison and care as an artist. Such a different time – I wonder who [if any?] of today’s working photographers will be celebrated as true artists on the centennial of their birth? TBD.