American photographer Richard Avedon (1923-2004) received widespread acclaim for his images in which he captured stars with their "masks dropped" and their true colors revealed. He was also notorious for the pitiless way in which he created these moments. For example, he told two great animal lovers, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, that his taxi had run over a dog on the way to the photo shoot--and in that second he caught their horrified reaction on film. This attitude, however, was not reserved merely for the rich and famous. Through his legendary project In the American West, hundreds of his uncompromising portraits of common people became photographic icons. This large-format publication presents over one hundred of his most beautiful classic images.