Irving Penn: Portraits Of The Artist As A Lost, Grieving Widower

In one self-portrait made after the death of his wife of 42 years, “the artist is unrecognizable. He presents himself as a befuddled, perplexed married man” transformed by his loss. In another, “his face now seems to melt before us, the one eye left intact looking heavenward. What sound is coming from his abject, open mouth?”