Penn Portraits at the NPG

I noticed this blue banner advertising Irving Penn Portraits when I was out taking pictures one morning around the National Portrait Gallery.

Then I noted a special exhibition talk by the exhibition curator Magdalene Kearney to be given today. All I know about Penn is that he is an American photographer, well known for his portrait, still life, and fashion photography.

I left the apartment earlier this afternoon than I needed to, so that I could get a place in the line-up for concessions at the Coliseum for Wyona and Greg. Greg had expressed an interest in seeing the new Tosca tonight. But my final destination was the lecture on the portraits.

When I told the woman behind me in the line-up that I was just holding this place for my sister, who would be here on time to buy the tickets, she looked me in the eye so kindly and said, “I must say, that is noble of you.”

I let her statement go. It would be too embarrassing for me to say that Wyona has stood in similar line-ups for me at least 20 times this month and no one has thought to called her noble.

Other people in the line up were complaining about how slowly the queue was moving forward. I tried to figure out what the rush was, in the first place. I do know that it takes longer to figure out which are the stalls and which is the Royal Circle on the map when the ticket agent asks you if the seats she is offering would be fine. And sometimes the queue has moved so slowly, my mind has to be refreshed about which opera tickets I am buying.

The couple ahead of me on Tuesday purchased their tickets and then took a few minutes to chat about the weather with the ticket seller before they shuffled their way out the door. That held up the speed of the line. Part of the reason the lines moves so slowly is everyone’s ID is checked. I consider it a compliment when the ticket agent asks to see I.D. to make sure that I am over sixty. I think it is easy to tell just by looking at my face.

The woman in the line-up with me, who also sat on the floor to relieve her tired legs, had to get up about 10 minutes before I did. She said it would take her that long to make it up to a standing position.

My free tour of the exhibition was connected with my timed ticket of entry so I had to wait until 7 pm to go in, which was just enough time to take a look at the Alex Katz Portraits. The hour spent walking around the exhibit with the curator was well worth waiting for. She showed how Penn was using thematic devices as early as the 1940’s and how these kept creeping into his work as he moved from full length portraiture to the depth and nuance that comes with his later work where only the face and the shoulders are framed.

I stayed later in the gallery and toured the exhibit again, the catalogue in my hand, looking in detail at what Kearny had only had a little time to draw attention to. To gather this collection together, she had toured all of the famous portrait galleries in America, gathering just the pieces that would show how he photographed the cultural icons of our time -- the artists, musicians, actors and writers.

I love the National Portrait Gallery. Here you can see its initials, NPG written in the floor tile just ouside of its doors.

You can also see me catching the shadows of the gates of the gallery reflected in the floor tile. I also caught shadows I didn't now existed. For example, I even caught my own shadow in this picture.

When I get back home, I am going to borrow the catalogue that was produced for the exhibition from the library.

I thumbed through it in the bookstore and it will make a lovely afternoon's reading.

Arta