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Observations (Avedon book)

Observations is a collaborative coffee table book with photography by Richard Avedon, commentary by Truman Capote and design by Alexey Brodovitch. It features a slipcase with color, all-capitalized lettering; the book itself is further housed in a clear acetate/glassine slip cover and is printed with the same bold design as the slipcase in black-and-white. Simon & Schuster published the work in 1959 having it printed using the photogravure method in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Observations
First edition slipcase
AuthorRichard Avedon & Truman Capote
LanguageEnglish
GenrePhotography
PublisherSimon & Schuster
Publication date
1959
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint Hardback
Pages151 pp
OCLC1455816

Conception

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Avedon and Capote started collaboration on the book in 1945.

Contents

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Observations contains numerous portraits of famous people of the twentieth century, including Pablo Picasso, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Katharine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Mae West.

Reception

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Isak Dinesen was initially insulted by Capote's description of her, but forgave him shortly before her death in 1962.[1]

Kerry William Purcell contends the book's design represents the pinnacle of Alexey Brodovitch's book designs.[2]

The book is a sought-after collectors item and typically sells for hundreds of dollars, even when not in ideal condition.

References

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Notes
  1. ^ Clarke, Gerald. Capote: a Biography (1998) Carroll & Graff. ISBN 0-7867-1661-4 p. 306-307
  2. ^ Purcell, Kerry William. Alexey Brodovitch (1999) Assouline. ISBN 978-2-84323-116-2 p. 170
Bibliography