For the first and possibly only time ever, Irving Penn's masterful Cigarettes series was exhibited in its entirety at Hamiltons Gallery during Summer 2012. Cigarettes quickly became part of the lore of 20th century art when a selection from the series was first presented by John Szarkowski at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1975, just weeks after he saw some of the prints in Penn's studio. On the spot, Szarkowski offered Penn an exclusive exhibition.
Marking a quarter-century as the UK representative of Mr Penn's studio, Hamiltons had the unique privilege of being able to present the complete series of 26 platinum palladium prints, accompanied by a fully illustrated, hardbound catalogue published in collaboration with the Irving Penn Foundation.