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US Vogue May 1946 cover by Irving Penn Picture courtesy of Wayne Pate (waynepate.blogspot.com / waynepate.com) |
I saw this image last month on the blog of New York illustrator Wayne Pate and I've not been able to get it out of my mind since. I’ve been a fan of Pate's for a while now and am fairly confident that Father Christmas has organised one of his prints for me for Christmas, assuming I can keep up this ‘good girl’ business til the 25th. Anyway, this is one of Pate’s ‘Prized Possessions’ and it’s easy to see why. It's a US Vogue cover from May 1946, by Irving Penn and, despite being well over sixty years old, it’s as timelessly beautiful and inspiring as ever. Being a yellow nut, I love the warming colour palette so much. But to me, it’s more than a slightly surreal collection of wonderful images. Viewed as a group, they perfectly balance health and indulgence, luxury and austerity. This cover speaks of finding beauty and pleasure in life's simple things - something that feels just right for the times we're living in now, when we're all having to rein it in a bit. It’s almost like a new year’s resolution in a cover. I want to get my hands on a copy and hang it on the wall. Father Christmas, please take note for 2011.
