Fashion photographer Richard Avedon was born on May 15, 1923. Born into a family that ran a famous New York boutique, he was familiar with fashion from an early age. In the 1940s, he studied photography at the Design Laboratory run by Alexey Brodovitch, art director of fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar. He then worked as a staff photographer for the magazine from 1946 to 1965. His talent was recognized by charismatic editor Diana Vreeland, and he established himself as a top photographer. The life of Avedon and his wife, Dorcas Nowell, at the time is said to have inspired the film "Paris Lovers," starring Audrey Hepburn. From 1966 onwards, he also worked as a photographer for Vogue and Life magazines, and a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1978. In 1980, he began shooting advertising campaigns for Gianni Versace.

In parallel with fashion photography, he also undertook portrait photography projects in the American West, photographing a variety of people, including butchers, coal miners, and prisoners. In 2004, he collapsed in Texas while on a trip for The New Yorker magazine and passed away at the age of 81.