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A few weeks ago, I was looking through a website when I came upon a truly amazing photograph. It was titled, "Nureyev's Foot." I was struck how beautifully it was lighted and cropped. That foot seemed to say everything about the control, power and strength required of such a famous ballet dancer as Rudolf Nureyev. I had to know who had taken the photo.
After some digging through the web, I found the photographer. It turned out to be Richard Avedon and I thought, "but, of course."
Avedon
(1923-2004) has been described as the
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg9Iv_K0y3oIg8BcndIotyqgpv-p8KjlWnJErpsDEgtJbyeJnrbzZArO8CfpIscmWawoyMjS1qNYe7NExFQSjeP-TC18dKvOEpaP-CDi3MOi8jUv9eMj1SCHIECH4rDgFHDqYZ3pXS8eg/s200/avedon_selfportrait.jpg)
premiere photographer of style and beauty for the second half of the 20th century. Yet, a career that started by taking Merchant Marines' photographs for I.D. cards hardly seems like the basis for such an outstanding career. However, with his passion for photography, he evolved a style that immediately identified a picture as an "Avedon." While Avedon was known for his fashion magazine work, his real love was portraiture.
At age 81 while on assignment for
The New Yorker, Avedon suffered a stroke and died. He left a legacy of the most iconic representations of famous figures of the 20th century - including Nureyev's foot. Do you recognize any of these photos?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQehqve59aL3g6M1ht49OyYBsq2d4_PioiPIooBRWSj8KZreTH6PUM7VVf2r59UbNaWIoVLVA7YdwUwheSOePR0YWWTZ5LqCVXgk1PHaTO_Ja3ZdD_vNr7gQ4P1DwlHFjC1xBoAa_htI/s200/richard_avedon.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7G8lY_bEb5Vs89txp1cQNCQrYzGwtRgElfKKKhH1SRPv2p_ANLlJ4G9XFmOnF-ygEi9cz6wijl7ucI6z1z4FEF9UuhgW3wfFcEeLd6nsvThjvejtLWPAJwEbjbvU2Cm-KwSj5YK-hFM/s200/avedon_twiggy.jpg)
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