June 19 – October 2, 2005 West Building, Ground Floor, Inner Tier Galleries G30 through G34
Installation view of Irving Penn: The Platinum Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gallery Archives
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Woman with Roses (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn in Lafaurie Dress), Paris, 1950, platinum/palladium print, 1977 55.1 x 37 cm (21 11/16 x 14 9/16 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1950 by Les Editions, Condé Nast S.A. 2002.119.48
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Ballet Society, New York, 1948, platinum/palladium print, 1980 57.6 x 46.7 cm (22 11/16 x 8 3/8 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1948 (renewed 1976) by Condé Nast Publications Inc. 2002.119.25
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Cuzco Children, 1948, platinum/palladium print, 1978 49.7 x 51.8 cm (19 9/16 x 20 3/8 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1960 by Condé Nast Publications Inc. 2002.119.26
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Cocoa-Colored Balenciaga Dress (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn), Paris, 1950, platinum/palladium print, 1979, 50.2 x 49.9 cm (19 3/4 x 19 5/8 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1950 (renewed 1978) by Condé Nast Publications Inc. 2002.119.41
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Vitrier (Glazier), Paris, 1950, platinum/palladium print, 1976 42.9 x 27 cm (16 7/8 x 10 5/8 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1951 Les Editions Condé Nast S.A. 2002.119.47
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Colette, Paris, 1951, platinum/palladium print, 1976 49.5 x 49.4 cm (19 1/2 x 19 7/16 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1954 by Condé Nast Ltd. 2002.119.50
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Picasso at La Californie, Cannes, France, 1957, platinum/palladium print, 1974 49.9 x 49.9 cm (19 5/8 x 19 5/8 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1960 by Irving Penn, Courtesy of Vogue. 2002.119.55
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Steinberg in Nose Mask, New York, 1966, platinum/palladium print, 1976, 63.2 x 53.3 cm (24 7/8 x 21 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1966 by Condé Nast Publications Inc. 2002.119.63
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Three Asaro Mud Men, New Guinea, 1970, platinum/palladium print, 1976 51.1 x 49.5 cm (20 1/8 x 19 1/2 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1974 by Irving Penn, Courtesy of Vogue. 2002.119.77
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Two Guedras, Morocco, 1971, platinum/palladium print, 1977, 50.2 x 43.5 cm (19 3/4 x 17 1/8 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1974 by Irving Penn, Courtesy of Vogue. 2002.119.80
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Gypsy Family, Estremadura, Spain, 1965, platinum/palladium print, 1976, 39.5 x 39.2 cm (15 9/16 x 15 7/16 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1966 by Condé Nast Publications Inc. 2002.119.61
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Woody Allen as Chaplin, New York, 1972, platinum/palladium print, 1980, 50 x 49.5 cm (19 11/16 x 19 1/2 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1972 by Condé Nast Publications Inc. 2002.119.84
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Archipelago, New York, 1975, platinum/palladium print, 1975, 76.2 x 55.9 cm (30 x 22 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1975 by Irving Penn. 2002.119.91
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Composition with Skull and Pear, New York, 1979, platinum/palladium print, 1981, 28.9 x 48.9 cm (11 3/8 x 19 1/4 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1981 by Irving Penn. 2002.119.99
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Platinum Test Materials1/17, 1989, collage of platinum/palladium prints, 76.2 x 55.9 cm (30 x 22 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1989 by Irving Penn. 2002.119.1
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Platinum Test Materials 4/17, 1989, collage of platinum/palladium prints, 76.2 x 55.9 cm (30 x 22 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1989 by Irving Penn. 2002.119.4
Irving PennPlatinum Prints
Platinum Test Materials 9/17, 1989, collage of platinum/palladium prints, 76.2 x 55.9 cm (30 x 22 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Irving Penn Copyright 1989 by Irving Penn. 2002.119.9
This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.
Overview: 83 works in this first major retrospective of American photographer Irving Penn included examples of the major genres in which Penn worked, such as portraits, fashion studies, ethnographic subjects, and still lifes. 12 of Penn's Platinum Test Materials collages, consisting of test strips associated with the finished platinum prints, were also on view. The exhibition was selected from photographs the artist donated to the National Gallery in 2002.
Organization: The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Sarah Greenough, curator and head of the department of photographs, was the curator.
Sponsor: The exhibition was sponsored by Merrill Lynch. It was supported by the Trellis Fund and The Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation.
Attendance: 85,816
Catalog:Irving Penn: Platinum Prints, by Sarah Greenough. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, in association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2005.