A surprise find.

Gordon Parks (1912-2006) lived a full and productive life, doing much to raise awareness of the poor, not least during his years at FSA with the likes of Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans and Marion Post Wolcott.

What I did not know is that somehow this talented man managed to gain access to the exclusionary 1950s world of fashion photography, well described in the NY Times Lens Blog.

While the monochrome work is rather imitative of the style of Irving Penn, with everything super sleek and ultra defined, the color work is an absolute revelation. Parks graps the essence that sparse color is good color, as seen below. The upcoming book on his work is something to look forward to.