Avedon : Something Personal by Norma Stevens and Steven M L Aronson

An intimate biography of Richard Avedon, the legendary fashion and portrait photographer who “helped define America’s image of style, beauty, and culture,” by his longtime collaborator and business partner Norma Stevens and award-winning author Steven M. L. Aronson.

Richard Avedon was arguably the world’s most famous photographer – as artistically influential as he was commercially successful. Over six richly productive decades, he created landmark advertising campaigns, iconic fashion photographs, groundbreaking books, and unforgettable portraits. Avedon’s subjects ranged from the biggest celebrities to uncelebrated faces, as he aimed to construct a grand composite picture of America.

Avedon had a unique mystique that made everyone fall under his spell. However, the Richard Avedon the world saw was perhaps his greatest creation – he meticulously curated his reputation and managed to remain among the most private of celebrities.

No one knew him better than Norma Stevens, his business partner and closest confidant for thirty years. In Avedon: Something Personal – a memoir, biography, and oral history – Stevens and co-author Steven M. L. Aronson delve into Avedon’s life, from his birth to his death in 2004 at the age of eighty-one.

The book includes candid reminiscences by notable figures such as Mike Nichols, Calvin Klein, Claude Picasso, Renata Adler, Brooke Shields, David Remnick, Naomi Campbell, Twyla Tharp, Jerry Hall, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Bruce Weber, Cindy Crawford, Donatella Versace, Jann Wenner, and Isabella Rossellini, among many others.

Avedon: Something Personal provides a comprehensive account of a man who was an enormous influence on both high and popular culture in fashion and art. Richard Avedon remains the only artist to have had two retrospectives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during his lifetime. The book goes beneath the surface to reveal the person behind the famous portraits, showcasing his contradictions, complexities, and touching humanity.

Publisher stands by controversial Richard Avedon biography, vows to address inaccuracies

The publisher of an article about photographer Richard Avedon is standing behind its authors and refusing to halt sales of the biography, despite calls from the Richard Avedon Foundation to suspend marketing. The foundation claims that the book, titled “Something Personal” by Norma Stevens and Stephen M.L. Aronson, is riddled with inaccuracies. The foundation pointed out ten factual errors, including trivial details like the year a house was purchased. James Martin, the Foundation’s executive director, stated that much of the book needs to be corrected or retracted. However, the publisher, Spiegel & Grau, asserts that Norma Stevens was appointed by Avedon himself as the founding director of his foundation, indicating that she was entrusted with accurately telling the story of his life. Spiegel & Grau has stated that they will review the alleged inaccuracies and make any necessary corrections in future printings of the article.