With its contribution to the acquisition of the Irving Penn collection, the Etrillard Foundation sought to strengthen the historical collection of the MEP, whose acquisition policy favors living artists. While certain series by Irving Penn were already well represented in the MEP collection, other series by the artist were insufficiently represented or entirely absent. Among these are some of Irving Penn’s earliest photographs, including several rare vintage prints, taken between 1939 and 1945 in New York, the American South, Mexico, or Italy at the end of the war. They reflect his early interest in vernacular subjects and the documentary style of the era. Among the portraits joining the MEP collection is a rare set from the ‘Corner portraits’ series, featuring icons such as Edith Piaf, Elsa Schiaparelli, or Le Corbusier in an original staging conceived by Penn. Through this support, the Etrillard Foundation wished to enrich the MEP collection with the works of an artist who forms part of the continuity of the pictorial tradition.
