Portraits of Power
In 1976, Richard Avedon went to Washington to photograph Henry Kissinger. As Avedon was leading him to his mark, Kissinger said, “Be kind to me.”Artists have been making portraits of the mighty for centuries—from Velázquez’s Philip IV to Lucian Freud’s Elizabeth II—and the act of portrait-making can leave the royal or the
Photographer Platon has shot Putin, Gaddafi, Clinton—getting them to reveal themselves in three minutes or less. He makes powerful people look human. Ian Parker watches him work, observing how he uses charm, flattery, and a relentless eye to capture something true.