Jimmy Savo, NY

1952

Jimmy Savo, NY, 1952. Irving Penn (American, 1917–2009). Gelatin silver print, 12 unique mounted contacts; paper: 19.1 x 27.9 cm (7 1/2 x 11 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift from the Collection of Mark Schwartz + Bettina Katz 2020.60 © The Irving Penn Foundation One of Vogue’s top photographers, Irving Penn was known for his arresting portraits of celebrities. He would often expose up to 10 rolls of film, or 120 frames, to make a single portrait. They were first printed as contact sheets—pieces of photographic paper containing positive prints the same size as the negatives—so that the artist could select the ones to be enlarged. Occasionally, Penn would give the contact sheets as gifts once the final image was selected. In 1942, performer Jimmy Savo starred in the Broadway show Wine, Women and Song, which closed by court order due to its shocking inclusion of a striptease.