COLUMBUS, OH.- The Columbus Museum of Art opened the exhibit In the American West: Photographs by Richard Avedon through September 17. In these boldly scaled portraits of truckers, oil workers, and drifters, Avedon created a compelling record of the fiber-hard, caring, frayed, and resilient-of common American characters. Assertive, controversial, and graphically striking, the portraits in the exhibition generated extensive and at times heated discussion about the nature of portraiture, photography and the true identity of the American West. Avedon's oversize portraits of working class westerners have become icons in photographic history, and the project still stands as a definitive expression of the power of photographic art.

Richard Avedon is regarded as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century. In addition to having made definitive portraits of the cultural and political leaders of the last fifty years, his work encompasses subjects as disparate as fashion, the Civil Rights movement, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

His photographs have challenged conventions and expectations in portraiture, documentary and fashion photography. He has received a Master of Photography Award from the International Center of Photography and his work is among the collections of MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among many others.