Not on display

Dovima with the Elephants - evening dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955

Photograph
August 1955 (photographed), 1981 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Avedon, Richard (photographer)
Place of origin
Paris (photographed)

Photograph

Object details

Categories
Photographs
Fashion
Object type
Photograph
TitleDovima with the Elephants - evening dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955 (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin-silver print
Photography
Brief description
Avedon, Richard. 'Dovima with Elephants - evening dress by Dior', Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955. Published in American Harper's Bazaar, September 1955.
Physical description
Photograph
Dimensions
  • Height: 129.3cm
  • Width: 103.3cm
Credit line
Copyright Richard Avedon, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
Object history
Richard Avedon has transformed fashion photography and portraiture alike, creating an instantly identifiable aesthetic which has influenced countless others. His ‘signature’ large format studio portraits of politicians, writers and artists render the sitters "symbolic of themselves", as he put it. His use of stark white backgrounds and life-size printing places viewers in a new relationship to the photographic image - a physical and almost confrontational one. His ability to create visual tension and surprise through unexpected contrasts is unparalleled.
Subjects depicted
Women
Elephant
Evening Dress
Bibliographic reference
Claire Wilcox, ed. The Golden Age of Couture. Paris and London 1947 - 1957 London:V&A Publications, 2007. 224p. ISBN: 9781851775200 (hbk); 9781851775217 (pbk).
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
PH.26-1985

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Record createdJuly 28, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O82832/dovima-with-the-elephants--photograph-avedon-richard/
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