Gideon Lewin at the closing of his show of intriguing and beautiful photographs in Barcelona. (Masterfully curated by his partner Joanna Mastroianni). Gideon worked for Richard Avedon - the gifted fashion and portrait photographer - for 15 years starting 1960. What a time he witnessed and worked.
I met Gideon when I hired him to do a shoot for our Paris fashion client Votre Nom in the late nineties. He had opened up his own studio by then. He knew me as an art director. And I never told him I was a photographer. I was more than happy to listen to his stories. We talked for hours when we first met, the day before the shoot. And we did several shoots together.
And we’ve remained friends. I’d visit the studio when in New York. He wrote a forwarding statement for my retrospective book PROOF several years ago, and he ended his own book about the Avedon years with a photograph I shot of him jumping on the steps outside Avedon’s exhibit at the Met.
He was and has remained graceful and gracious, and quietly aware.
We caught up on the phone in early September and he told me of his show that opened in July in Spain. I’ll be going back for the closing the first of October he said. A few days later - maybe I should go I thought. I got a plane ticket and sent Gideon a note - see you for the closing.
I’ve had enough regrets. Go. Do. Thanks for the friendship. It was a beautiful show.