After graduating from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, September 1964, Jerusalem-born photographer Gideon Lewin travelled to New York to interview for a job with Richard Avedon. He arrived at 110 East 58th Street with a leatherbound portfolio in hand and took the elevator up to the fourth floor. Just as he was about to enter Avedon’s studio, the famed model Wilhelmina breezed out. “I knew I was in the right place,” Lewin tells AnOther.
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After interviewing with the studio manager, Lewin had a casual conversation with Avedon, who was on the phone, and was hired on the spot. “I was in shock,” Lewin recalls. “I said, ‘I don’t even have an apartment here’. Avedon told me, ‘Take your time. I’m going to Spain. You start with Hiro, my associate, and I will see you when I come back. I hope you get an apartment. I love an international team.’”
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That auspicious encounter marked the start of a 16-year partnership poignantly chronicled in the new book Avedon – Behind the Scenes 1964-1980, a lavish monograph featuring intimate stories and behind-the-scenes photographs from some of the best moments in Avedon’s career. Whether photographing legends like Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Cher, Veruschka, or Twiggy, Lewin paints a revealing portrait of Avedon, the artist and the man. Here, Lewin shares his memories of what it was like to work side-by-side with one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century.
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Read the Full Story at AnOther
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