What does immortal look like? Explore aging through the lens of Richard Avedon.

What does immortal look like? Explore aging through the lens of Richard Avedon.

Published September 3, 2026

This fall, there’s a new landmark exhibition launching at The Image Centre (IMC) in Toronto featuring the work of legendary American photographer Richard Avedon. For nearly half a century, Avedon confronted one of portraiture’s enduring taboos: aging. You don’t want to miss this raw, honest and unflinching exploration of getting older.

Experience Richard Avedon Immortal: Portraits of Aging, 1951–2004.

From September 9 to December 5 at the IMC, you can explore aging through the lens of Richard Avedon, one of the twentieth century’s most influential photographers. In an age of filters, airbrushing and vilifying aging, Avedon saw beauty in infirmities, wrinkles, crow’s feet, rheumy eyes and liver spots — the outward markers of what he once called “the avalanche of age.”

From his earliest years at Harper’s Bazaar, Avedon routinely and audaciously broke with the conventions of idealized celebrity portraiture, revealing the marks of time on his subjects’ faces with unsparing clarity. His portraits highlight aging as a privilege and evidence of a life well-lived.

Bringing together nearly 100 portraits made between the early 1950s and 2004, the exhibition features artists, writers, musicians and cultural icons, including Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, Duke Ellington, Ronald Reagan, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Patti Smith, Truman Capote and the Dalai Lama. Immortal also includes a restaging of Avedon’s seminal 1974 Museum of Modern Art exhibition Jacob Israel Avedon, which chronicled his own father’s final years in nine extraordinary portraits.

Accompanying the groundbreaking Immortal exhibition is an elegant hardcover photo book. Thoughtfully edited and beautifully produced, it delves into Avedon’s representation of aging throughout his career and the determination with which people confront the relentless advance of mortality.

The Image Centre (IMC) is Canada’s leading institution dedicated to the exhibition, research and collecting of photography.

If you have yet to visit the IMC, you absolutely must. Established in 2012 at Toronto Metropolitan University, in the heart of the city, the IMC welcomes visitors to explore the intersection of photography and culture. Through compelling exhibitions and engaging public programming, the IMC showcases work by emerging, renowned and anonymous photographers, past and present. With a growing collection of nearly 500,000 photographic objects and an innovative scholarly research program, the IMC is a vibrant hub for the preservation and study of photography. Most recently, the IMC was nominated for the 2026 Ontario’s Choice Awards in the Top Small Museum/Art Gallery/Historic Site category.

Be among the first to experience Richard Avedon Immortal and the start of the fall exhibition season at the opening reception.

On Wednesday, September 9 from 6 to 8 p.m., enjoy a free public reception celebrating the opening of Richard Avedon Immortal and the museum’s newest exhibitions, including Tanya Marcuse: Portent and Madison Chow: Overflow.

Spend the evening exploring these thought-provoking shows, connect with artists and curators, and savor light refreshments and a cash bar. Eventbrite registration is required. Make sure to mark your calendar and reserve your free ticket for this first look at the IMC’s upcoming exhibitions.

All season, the IMC offers incredible events, talks and tours that dive deeper behind the lens of Avedon, including:

Lecture by award-winning New Yorker journalist Adam Gopnik on Tuesday, September 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Talk by IMC director and exhibition curator Paul Roth on Wednesday, October 14 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Tour with Paul Roth and New Yorker critic Vince Aletti on Wednesday, November 4 from 6 to 7 p.m.
Tour with Paul Roth and IMC curator Gaëlle Morel on Wednesday, December 2 from 6 to 7 p.m.