Annie Leibovitz: Women

If you are in Dallas and haven't yet seen the exhibit Annie Leibovitz: Women at The Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future, you still have until April 10, 2011. This special showing of Women provides an exclusive insight into the stunning portfolio of one of America's most talented photographers. The images create a vivid and complex collective portrait of women today.

The exhibit is drawn from photographs generously gifted to The Women's Museum by Annie Leibovitz in 2003.  Featuring 27 portraits by the internationally renowned photographer, it's a celebration of the American woman at the dawn of a new millennium and includes portraits from a broad spectrum of society. Well-known women - including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Drew Barrymore, Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Taylor, Jerry Hall, Susan Sarandon and Toni Morrison- juxtaposed with lesser known women whose primary notoriety is their impact on those around them. "I'm very moved by the sense of dignity these women have," says Leibovitz.

Born in 1949 in Connecticut, Annie Leibovitz attended the San Francisco Art Institute originally intending to study painting. After traveling to Japan, her focus quickly changed to photography. Growing up reading Rolling Stone magazine, Leibovitz became chief photographer only two years after starting her career at the publication. Known for her portraits of culturally significant people, Leibovitz's most notable photograph might well be the picture of Lennon and Ono taken just hours before Lennon's untimely death. This photograph was named "best magazine cover from the past 40 years" by the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2005. Annie Leibovitz is one of the world's most widely recognized photographers, still stunning audiences with her artistic perspective and unbridled passion for her life's work.

The Women's Museum, in association with the Smithsonian Institution, is the nation's only comprehensive women's history museum that chronicles the lives of American women through interactive exhibits. The Women's Museum is supported, in part, by the City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m. (closed Mondays). For more information, please visit www.thewomensmuseum.org. The exhibit contains adult content, visitor discretion is advised.