Produced to mark the photographer Richard Avedon's retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York in March 1994, this book contains two essays. The first, by curator Jane Livingston, addresses Avedon's career as a whole, beginning with the first publication of his portraits. The second by Adam Gopnik, deals with Avedon, the man. The book also includes a 50-page chronology of his career, and many examples of both his famous and unpublished work.