Imagine Documentaries has a track record of producing nonfiction portraits of prominent figures, using festival rollouts and accompanying profiles to keep artists’ work circulating on streaming. A new profile of photographer Richard Avedon premiered at Cannes on 17 May and is co-produced by the Richard Avedon Foundation. The film relies heavily on interviews Avedon gave to Helen Whitney for Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light, which aired on PBS’s American Masters during the last decade of his life. Additional new interviews include Avedon’s son John, Lauren Hutton, Isabella Rossellini, Twyla Tharp, Tina Brown, and John Lahr. A revealing moment features dealer Larry Gagosian describing Dovima with Elephants as one of Avedon’s most iconic and valuable photographs, noting a sale for $2 million.
"There is no urgent need for Howard's new profile of the photographer Richard Avedon, which had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May. It draws extensively from interviews with Avedon conducted by Helen Whitney for Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light, which aired on PBS's American Masters during the last decade of the photographer's life, and a full half-dozen of that documentary's talking heads-Avedon's son John and great muse Lauren Hutton, as well as Isabella Rossellini, Twyla Tharp and former New Yorker colleagues Tina Brown and John Lahr-sat for new interviews with Howard's team."
"What there is, is the Richard Avedon Foundation, which co-produced this new Avedon (2026). Perhaps the most revealing moment in the film comes when Avedon's longtime dealer Larry Gagosian describes Dovima with Elephants, Evening Dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Parisas "one of his most iconic images, and one of the most valuable photographs he made; I think we sold one for $2m"."
"Given his extensive celebrity-wrangling experience, Howard is a fine choice for an Avedon film. A great pleasure of the documentary, which is by no means a chore to watch, is the volume of 20th-century personalities that flow by in montages of portraits and contact sheets, as well as in the interviews that run us through Avedon's life and work wit"
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