Acknowledged to be the dominant photographic influence on American fashion and beauty, Francesco Scavullo photographed almost every celebrated man, woman and child in the world today. His photographs have graced the covers of magazines such as Rolling Stone, Life, Time, Town & Country, Harpers Bazaar, Vogue, Mademoiselle, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Harpers & Queen, L'Officiel, Woman and Max, to name a few. (Francesco photographed the covers of Cosmopolitan for some 30 years.)
He shot many movie posters, including 'A Star is Born' with Barbra Streisand and also did many album covers. Edgar Winter's 'They Only Come Out At Night' is the first published Rock & Roll cover with full drag make up. Diana Ross's 'Diana' album shows her with no make up, wet hair, a wet tee-shirt and torn jeans.
Mr. Scavullo published several books including, 'Scavullo On Beauty', 'Scavullo Men', 'Scavullo Women' and 'Scavullo: Photographs, 50 Years'. Prior to his passing, he was working on two new books, one of which is a book on nudes. In addition to his published work, Francesco's photographs are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.
Francesco is equally renowned for his enamel on canvas, photo silkscreen portraits, and still lifes printed both on canvas and as limited editions on museum board. His cover of the New York showcasing a glamorous Martha Mitchell was the start of his commissioned portrait work, which now compares to the value of a new prestigous vehicle.
After a half-century in the business, "I can't believe it's been fifty years", said Scavullo himself, "there must be a mistake somewhere. I'm as excited today as when I photographed Janis Joplin twenty-eight years ago. I get a kick out of photography. I love it. I live for it. I don't look back. I don't look ahead. I just look around." (Abrams, 'Scavullo: Photographs 50 Years', 15).
Francesco Scavullo passed away on January 6th, 2004 at age 83.
