The Art Institute of Chicago holds the paper and photographic archives of Irving Penn (1917–2009), a leading photographer of the 20th century. In addition, the Art Institute also has more than 200 fine art prints by Penn, and in Spring 2012 the museum launched a website to unite photographs from the Department of Photography with archival materials from the Irving Penn Archives, housed in the museum’s Ryerson and Burnham Library and Archives.
The website presents access to newly digitized archival materials, much of which was previously not discoverable online, and presents a series of thematic essays along with a host of research resources, including timelines, bibliographies, and more, and robust cataloging information about each fine art print, including inscriptions and publication and exhibition histories.
For more information or to view the website, visit the Irving Penn Archives. Click here for a direct link to the visual content of the website, including fine art prints, digitized material from the photographic archives including test prints and contact sheets, and digitized material from the paper archives including Irving Penn’s notebooks and technical printing information.