- Eye in Keyhole
Sheet: 20 3/8 × 14 in. (51.8 × 35.6 cm)
Mount: 22 5/8 × 16 1/4 in. (57.4 × 41.3 cm)
Explore Further
Although recognized as one of the best portrait and fashion photographers of the 20th century, Irving Penn made series of works that were separate from his commercial career. Many of his personal pictures investigate the photographic medium. "I myself have always stood in awe of the camera," Penn said. "I recognize it for the instrument it is, part Stradivarius, part scalpel." Eye in Keyhole references this duality. The eye is both a subject and a stand-in, peering through a keyhole like the photographer peers through the lens of a camera, suggesting that both have the potential to unlock visual worlds.
ProvenanceThe Irving Penn Foundation, New York; purchased by MFAH, 2013.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in ink and pencil on verso upper left: REF:14734
Stamped in ink verso center: SIGNED PRINTS OF THIS PHOTOGRAPH / NOT EXCEDING 17. [number in pencil]
Stamped in ink verso center: DYE TRANSFER PRINT MADE 1984. / IP [date and initials in script in ink]
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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