After leaving Vogue in 1953, Penn set up his own studio and began working commercially as well as continuing to create personal work - it was on one of these shoots that he met his wife Lisa Fonssagrives - they were married until her death in 1992.
Unlike a number of his contemporaries, Penn’s work was minimalist and simple. Often shot in his NYC studio, he used set designers drop cloths to create a simple backdrop on which to place his subjects. Favouring a Hasselblad Camera on a tripod, Penn’s work is posed and detail oriented. His commercial and fashion work are celebrated, but his portraits are perhaps his best known work. This iconic image of Peter and Dagmar Freuchen was shot in his studio against one of these backdrops.
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