Unique among fashion and portrait photographers, Richard Avedon built an enduring legacy. Nowhere is that better illustrated than Amon Carter Museum of American Art’s current exhibition, Richard Avedon’s West, a rare glimpse of 13 photographs from his acclaimed project “In the American West.”
For some, work is its own reward. For others it is a compromise, a trade-off to some ulterior purpose. And yet it is the work that defines us. There is something in the doing that gives us stature and makes us whole.
The works of Western artists have long oscillated between escapism and the minutiae of daily life. While the otherworldly paintings of Salvador Dali and many of his 20th-century peers sought to untether viewers from their humdrum lives, Louise Nevelson’s sculptures thoughtfully engaged the world. More than 50