Bukowskis presents Richard Avedon at Contemporary Art & Design
Richard Avedon
”Jimmy Durante”, 1970
Jimmy Durante (1893-1980) was one of America’s most famous vaudeville artists. With one foot in the world of jazz and the other in comedy, Schnozzola (the name he gave himself due to his impressive nose) became a well-known name in the American entertainment industry. Apart from being a popular radio personality, Durante was also a star on Broadway, and during the 1950s, he even had his own TV show on NBC. With the same sense of frenzy and effortlessness, he would play the piano, crack jokes or act in movies. In 1934 he wrote the song ‘Inka Dinka Doo’, which then became his signature piece.
› From the "Minneapolis Portfolio". Signed Avedon and numbered 3/35. Gelatin silver print, image 55.5 x 48 cm. Sheet 60.9 x 50.7 cm. Estimate 175 000 – 200 000 SEK.
Here, Durante is seen through the lens of Richard Avedon (1923-2004), one of the greatest stars of photography. He specialised in fashion photography and portraits of famous people from the theatre, the movies, music and dance. Avedon began his professional life at Harper’s Bazaar (where he stayed for twenty years) and at Vogue Magazine. Throughout his almost sixty-year-long career, he was awarded several prizes, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1989 and in 1991 the Hasselblad Award. His fashion images set the blueprint for almost every photographer and continue to do so. In many of Avedon’s images, like in the present portrait, the subject’s charisma and personality carry the shot. Jimmy Durante is caught in motion, just as he would greet his audience – by tipping his hat, a twinkle in his eye and a cheeky smile on his face.
To be sold at Contemporary Art & Design
Viewing October 21st – 25th, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm
Auction Live October 26th, Arsenalsgatan 2, Stockholm
To the work
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Louise Wrede
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Karin Aringer
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