American artist Irving Penn (1917–2009) began his career working for Vogue as a fashion photographer, creating images with clean lines, crisp tones, and balanced compositions that garnered accolades in the worlds of art as well as fashion before Juergen Teller was even a flash in his mother's eye. In the early 1950s, the photographer began to expand his oeuvre; shooting in London, Paris, and New York, Penn started a series he called "Small Trades," the most comprehensive collection of which is now on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Taking tradespeople as his subjects, Penn photographed workers against a neutral studio background, each in full uniform with all of the accoutrements of their occupations. To a contemporary eye, the backdrop and staging make the images appear like sociological or anthropological studies.


READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON ART IN AMERICA.
RVING PENN, SMALL TRADES IS ON VIEW THROUGH JANUARY 10 AT THE GETTY CENTER, LOS ANGELES.