Absolutely magnificent 50s and 60s photos by the unparalleled genius Richard Avedon – the man who revolutionised fashion

In 1944, 21-year-old Richard Avedon began his career as a photographer at Harper's Bazaar, a position he held for two decades. Upon leaving, he had revolutionized fashion photography and solidified his place as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. Prior to Avedon's arrival, fashion photography was a static, studio-bound practice led by classic masters such as Horst P. Horst and Cecil Beaton.

Elegant models were portrayed as inanimate objects, meticulously posed, expertly lit with multiple lights, and captured using large format cameras.

Avedon shattered these norms, leading a new generation of post-war photographers who created a more fluid, spontaneous world. This new fashion imagery became so familiar that it's easy to overlook the groundbreaking pioneer behind it. While Martin Munkacsi and Louise Dahl-Wolfe had begun the visual journey beforehand, Avedon took it to new heights, emphasizing movement, narrative storytelling, and theater.

After working at Harper's Bazaar for two decades, Avedon joined Vogue in 1966, bringing his signature aesthetic to the broader world of post-war America. These formative years at Harper's Bazaar have now been compiled in a lavish book, "Richard Avedon: The Harper's Bazaar Years," showcasing both iconic and lesser-known photographs that defined the magazine's most groundbreaking period.