Irving Penn: Centennial at The Met

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will welcome a three-month celebration and major retrospective of the world-renowned photographer, Irving Penn. The exhibition is set to be the most extensive exhibition of the late American photographer's work to date, and will showcase a selection of two hundred masterpieces as well as unknown prints from his vast collections, spanning over his nearly 70-year-long career.

Born in June 1917, the New Jersey native began his early photography work in haute couture, where he developed an eye for a unique aesthetic, defined by softly diffused silhouettes paired with minimal backdrops and meticulous detailing. Unusual angles and perceptions in his early imagery earned Penn his name as the master of unconventional fashion photography. His popularity and recognisable style cemented a long-standing relationship with Vogue magazine – a love affair with fashion editorial that lasted over six decades ­– with the magazine honouring him as one of the world’s most iconic fashion photographers for his influential work at the magazine during this time.

A true visionary and master of all trades, Penn's legacy will be thoroughly explored through some of his most famous photography themes and subjects. These encompass fashion and style, featuring classic images of Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn – his wife and former dancer who is credited as becoming the world's first supermodel – portraits of indigenous people in Cuzco, Peru and the Small Trades series – his tribute to the working classes. It also includes iconic portraits of some of the most important cultural figures of the 20th century from Truman Capote, Joe Louis and Picasso to choreographer Alvin Ailey, Ingmar Bergman and Joan Didion.

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Beyond photography, the old theatre curtain he found in Paris in 1950 and used as a backdrop for all of his Small Trades series will be on display at the exhibition, as will one of Penn's Rolleiflex cameras. The exhibition will be accompanied by an audio guide interspersed with excerpts of archival recordings of the photographer as well as interviews with the curators and the artist's son Tom.

From September 2017, the exhibition will travel to the Grand Palais in Paris and continue its international tour with stops in Germany and Brazil.

Irving Penn: Centennial will be at The Met, New York, from 24 April to 30 July. Tickets $25; metmuseum.org