Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2005

SAN DIEGO—The San Diego Museum of Art will be the first West Coast venue for a major nationally touring exhibition of the leading contemporary photographer Annie Leibovitz from February 10 to April 22, 2007. Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2005 will feature approximately 200 photographs by Leibovitz, including family photographs and portraits of public figures, such as Colin Powell, Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt, Merce Cunningham, and Bill Clinton. These compelling photographs, in both black and white and color, provide a rare glimpse into the wide range of subjects captured by Leibovitz, who is counted among the most celebrated photographers of our time.

Organized by the Brooklyn Museum and sponsored by American Express, the exhibition encompasses work Leibovitz made on assignment as a professional photographer, as well as personal photographs of her family and close friends. “I don’t have two lives,” Leibovitz says. “This is one life, and the personal pictures and the assignment work are all part of it.” The photographer’s personal material, images that many are less familiar with, reflect Leibovitz’s talents in a way that differs from her public career. They document the birth of her three daughters and many events involving her large family, including the death of her father.

Leibovitz’s recognizable portraits of public figures include the pregnant Demi Moore, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rob Besserer on Cumberland Island, George W. Bush with members of his Cabinet at the White House, Michael Moore at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, William S. Burroughs in Kansas, and Agnes Martin in Taos. Her assignment work includes searing reportage from the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s and a series of landscapes taken in the American West and in the Jordanian desert.

“This is a landmark exhibition of a major photographer’s work,” says SDMA executive director Derrick Cartwright. “Few contemporary photographers can rival Annie Leibovitz in terms of sheer popularity and immediate familiarity. Her imagery compels deeper attention to the critical dimensions of photojournalism and has earned Leibovitz the respect of both her subjects and her peers. We look forward to sharing this gifted artist’s memorable craft with our visitors and we are proud to be the first West Coast venue for this major project.”

Annie Leibovitz has been making witty, powerful images documenting American popular culture since the early 1970s, when her work began appearing in Rolling Stone. She became the magazine’s chief photographer in 1973 and ten years later began working for Vanity Fair, and then Vogue, creating a legendary body of work. In addition to her magazine work, Leibovitz has created influential advertising campaigns for American Express, Gap, Givenchy, The Sopranos, and the Milk Board. The subject of several museum and gallery retrospectives, she was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress in 2000 and one of the thirty-five Innovators of Our Time by Smithsonian Magazine in 2005.

Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2005 is organized by the Brooklyn Museum and sponsored by American Express. It will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum, October 20, 2006–January 21, 2007; San Diego Museum of Art, February 10–April 22, 2007; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, May 12–September 9, 2007; Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C., October 13, 2007–January 13, 2008; de Young Museum, San Francisco, February 9–May 11, 2008 (additional venues to be announced). The exhibition is accompanied by a significant 472-page publication, entitled A Photographer’s Life: 1990–2005, published by Random House.

Local presentation of the exhibition is made possible by the generous support the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program, and members of the San Diego Museum of Art.

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The historic San Diego Museum of Art provides a rich and diverse cultural experience for more than 400,000 annual visitors. Located in the heart of beautiful Balboa Park, the Museum's nationally renowned collections include Spanish and Italian old masters, South Asian paintings, and 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculptures. In addition, the Museum regularly features major exhibitions of art from around the world, as well as an extensive year-round schedule of supporting cultural and educational programs.

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