Sleek. Stark. Sophisticated. The images of longtime Vogue contributor Irving Penn fused fashion and fine art—making him one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty, opening Oct. 23 for a five-month run at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, will showcase 160 images pulled from every stage of the visionary’s robust 70-year career, including chic celebrity portraits (from Audrey Hepburn to Truman Capote), gorgeous still lifes and the his “Bee on Lips” image (1995) recently recreated by Interview magazine with singer Lana Del Rey. Exhibit goers can also catch a rare and intimate glimpse of the artist in Super 8mm films captured by his wife, Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, chronicling their time in Morocco. Also opening at the same museum: Crosscurrents: Modern Art from the Sam Rose and Julie Walters Collection (Oct. 30 to Apr. 3, 2016), which brings together major American artists like Georgia O’Keeffe, David Hockney and Roy Lichtenstein with masters of European modernism (à la Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso) under one roof. amercanart.si.edu
