40 Years of In the American West

The Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) presents Richard Avedon at the Carter, an exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of the inaugural presentation of Richard Avedon’s iconic In the American West series.

This exhibition showcases forty of Avedon’s groundbreaking portraits alongside archival photographs captured by artist Laura Wilson, who accompanied Avedon on his travels, as well as rarely seen archival photos and ephemera from the installation and opening events at the Carter in 1985.  Richard Avedon at the Carter is on view May 18 through August 10, 2025.

“We are thrilled to be presenting photographs from the historic commission by the Carter that resulted in Richard Avedon’s influential series, In the American West, 40 years after we debuted the body of work in our galleries,” stated Andrew J. Walker, Executive Director at the Carter. “Photography is a cornerstone of the Museum’s collection, and this series is a testament to our commitment to not only the collecting and preservation of this medium, but our longstanding tradition of working with living artists.”

Images (left to right): Richard Avedon (1923–2004), John Harrison, lumber salesman, and his daughter Melissa, Lewisville, Texas, 11/22/81, gelatin silver print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, P1985.28.68, © The Richard Avedon Foundation; In the American West: Photographs by Richard Avedon, 1985, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas; Laura Wilson (b. 1939), [View through the legs of Dick and his assistant at Roberto Lopez], 1980, gelatin silver print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art Archives, Fort Worth, Texas, A2006.210.8, © Laura Wilson

In 1979, the Carter commissioned Avedon to create a portrait of the American West, prompting his six-year journey throughout seventeen states, photographing a range of often overlooked working-class people in the iconic style he’d formerly applied to portraits of celebrities. Known as an acclaimed fashion and portrait photographer, Avedon’s commissioning challenged the conventional portraiture standards resulting in one of the most important and influential series of the 20th century.  The forty works on view in the exhibition exemplify his signature style, all pictured against his seamless white backdrop, removing visual markers of place and focusing instead on the individuality of each subject.

“Of the many photographic treasures housed by the Carter, Avedon’s In the American West series is perhaps the most influential of them all,” said María Beatriz H. Carrión, Assistant Curator of Photographs at the Carter. “The project profoundly impacted the field of U.S. photography. It also shaped the trajectory of the Museum by catalyzing its commissioning of living artists. It is an honor and a privilege to work with this series and to shed light on the fascinating history of its making.”

Opening Reception, In the American West, 1985
Photo courtesy of Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Accompanying the portraits in Richard Avedon at the Carter is a selection of behind-the-scenes ephemera including the commission contract with Avedon, letters exchanged between the artist and the Carter, copies of signed photo releases by the sitters, Avedon’s travel log, as well as plans for the inaugural exhibition, guest lists, and press coverage from the opening. The 2025 exhibition also includes photographs by Laura Wilson documenting Avedon’s travels and his creative process during the production of the photographs that would become In the American West.  These archival materials provide a deeper look at the process of working with a living artist, offering a new perspective of the landmark commission forty years after its first presentation.

Richard Avedon at the Carter is organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Major support for the exhibition is provided by the Leo Potishman Foundation. The Carter will celebrate the exhibition during the Museum’s free June Second Thursdays at the Carter event on June 12 from 5–8 p.m. For more information and to RSVP visit cartermuseum.org/events.

In 1979, the Carter commissioned photographer Richard Avedon to create a portrait of the American West. Intrigued by the challenge, Avedon spent the next five summers, from 1979 to 1984, traveling to 189 towns in seventeen states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming—and up into Canada. He conducted 752 sittings of the people he met on his travels, exposing 17,000 sheets of film through his large-format view camera. Each photograph of the series is titled with subject’s name, location, date, and often occupation. The resulting 1985 exhibition, In the American West, is widely regarded as a landmark work of portraiture and a definitive expression of the power of photographic art. Two generations later, the 124 photographs of In the American West series remain some of the most important and influential portraits of the 20th century, continuing to challenge the stereotypes of the West.