Irving Penn

What's most noticeable about the photographic portraits on display is how the (mostly) spartan settings focus attention so comprehensively on the figures and faces of the subjects. There are no extraneous distractions and in the early works, where full-figure shots are the norm, the body language tells all. Many of the subjects don't smile, the exceptions being some of the actors (Spencer Tracy positively twinkles while Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly exude Hollywood glamour). Not all though: the double portrait of the redoubtable Anna Magnani and director Roberto Rossellini feels thoroughly confrontational as their shadowed faces glower at the camera. That's the other thing. Many of the subjects stare back, unsmiling, at the viewer. They are a fascinating mix of 20th century cultural icons - artists, writers, dancers, actors, designers - and almost best of all, amid of group of Italian intellectuals in a Roman cafe out peaks the familar figure of Orson Welles, completely unexpectedly ...