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Francesco Scavullo
451px-Francesco scavullo
Background information
Born January 16, 1921
Staten Island, New York City, New York
Died January 6, 2004
New York City, New York
Nationality American
Photographer

Francesco Scavullo (January 16, 1921 – January 6, 2004) was an American fashion photographer best known for his work on the covers of Cosmopolitan and his celebrity portraits, who photographed Duran Duran.

Biography[]

Born in Staten Island, Scavullo began to pursue his fascination with images of beauty by picking up his father's camera and taking snapshots, using his sisters as models. After graduating from high school in 1945, Scavullo began working for a studio that produced fashion catalogs. He soon moved on to Vogue. Scavullo spent three years as Horst P. Horst's assistant, studying Horst's techniques. In 1948, he created a cover for Seventeen that won him a contract with the magazine. Scavullo's soon opened his own studio in Manhattan. Some of Scavullo's more controversial work included a Comospolitan centerfold of a nude Burt Reynolds, and photographs of a young Brooke Shields that some considered overly sexual. He also befriended a young teenager from Philadelphia, future supermodel Gia Carangi, whose career he was largely responsible for launching. Later, when Carangi's heroin addiction made it impossible for her to find work, Scavullo continued to employ her and support her until her eventual death from complications relating to AIDS.

Scavullo also created shots for various movie posters, album covers and Broadway shows, including one for A Star is Born (featuring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson), as well as a portrait of Julie Andrews for Blake Edwards' Victor/Victoria. In 1981, Scavullo was commissioned by Mikhail Baryshnikov to photograph the dancers of the American Ballet Theatre which formed the basis of an exhibition that was later shown in a nationwide tour.

Francesco photographed Duran Duran in the 1980s, with his work featuring on various releases including the cover of "The Wild Boys" single, and he also appeared in the band's tour documentary Sing Blue Silver.

Scavullo's work has also been used in the covers of Seventeen, Harper's Bazaar, and Rolling Stone. He also published several books, from 1976's Scavullo on Beauty to 2000's Scavullo Nudes. Scavullo died of heart failure at the age of 82, while on his way to a photo shoot with a then up-and-coming CNN news anchor, Anderson Cooper.

A selection of Francesco Scavullo's work[]

Links[]

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