Andy Grundberg's article on Richard Avedon titles him "the eye of fashion", and rightly so.  He photographed some of the most important models and fashion trends during fashion's push towards its now mainstream ties.  His work combines the direct and business aspects of fashion with the fantasy aspects of art photography to create a surreal attraction in viewers.

He passed away at the age of 81, a full and healthy life by most people's standards. His talent was recognized at an early age and in his thirties was even the model for a photographer character in a movie in 1957 called "Funny Face". He took his photography seriously and believed in showing people the true worth of someone in his art.  He talked about his work with photography all kinds of people around the world but that his main interest was photographing people of accomplishment rather than celebrities.  They were worth documenting and saving to share with the rest of the world.  

He shared support for anti-war groups and civil rights groups in the 1960s.  He even taught black photographers in the south how to photograph the different sit-ins and civil rights marches to better support the movements.  

He grew up in a household that surrounded him in fashion from a young age.  His father owned a clothing store in Manhattan and his mother came from a  family with a dress making manufacturing business.  He started reading fashion magazines at a young age and saved copies of his favorite fashion photographs.  

His work is fantastically detailed and unique.  He captures the essence of a person and their struggles.  He almost always captured in black and white and I think that gives him a very strong classic tone with his work.  He can focus on basic structure in a picture rather than worry about the balance.  The tones of the black and white give great personality and texture to his photos.  He often included black space from the negative of the image around the edges of photos in his exhibitions.  His photographs were mostly shot in an all white studio to give the subject a sense of weightlessness in the photo.