Avedon’s legacy is one of unbending realism cloaked in the language of high fashion: he once described his work as a “series of no’s leading to a yes.. I have a white background. I have the person I’m interested in and the thing that happens between us.” His portraits were sophisticated but brutal, and over time, they became a barometer of social importance to those who posed. “An Avedon portrait brought an instant aura of importance and legitimacy to its subject; the picture said you matter now, because you’re news, or because you’re something people either like to stare at or talk about, but quietly so. If Avedon was taking your portrait, then you’d arrived. Even if you milked cows for a living.”