Ron Howard's New Documentary Turns to the Photographer Richard Avedon

Ron Howard has directed a new documentary about the photographer Richard Avedon, and it is now available on Netflix, the streaming service.

The film is called Avedon. A documentary is a non-fiction film, built from real footage and real people talking about their lives and work. Avedon uses archival footage, meaning older film and material from the period, along with interviews. Together they look back at fashion publishing in its earlier days, when magazines had large budgets and their creative teams had wide freedom to experiment. ARTnews reported these details in its review of the film.

The people who speak on camera come from many corners of the art, fashion and media worlds. They include Larry Gagosian, the art dealer, and Tina Brown, the magazine editor. Also featured are the model Twiggy, the writer Hilton Als, Samira Nasr, the actor Isabella Rossellini and the fashion designer Calvin Klein. Two people are closer to the photographer himself. John Avedon is Richard Avedon's son. James Martin is executive director of the Richard Avedon Foundation, the organisation that looks after his work.

Gagosian has a further link to the story. He represents the foundation, and he has opened an Avedon exhibition in Beverly Hills, California. A dealer is a person who buys and sells works of art for galleries and collectors, usually taking a share of each sale.

Richard Avedon's photographs are widely shown in galleries and museums, and the foundation controls how his work is presented. The film draws on that archive, pairing it with memories from the people who worked alongside him.

ARTnews, in its review, described Avedon as full of style and substance. The review treats the film as a look at a particular era in fashion publishing, one in which, as the film shows it, money and creative freedom were closely tied together.

For viewers, the film is available to watch at home on Netflix, with no cinema visit required.