<P> Avedon became the first staff photographer for The New Yorker in 1992, where his post-apocalyptic, wild fashion fable "In Memory of the Late Mr. and Mrs. Comfort," featuring model Nadja Auermann and a skeleton, was published in 1995 . Other pictures for the magazine, ranging from the first publication, in 1994, of previously unpublished photos of Marilyn Monroe to a resonant rendering of Christopher Reeve in his wheelchair and nude photographs of Charlize Theron in 2004, were topics of wide discussion . Some of his less controversial New Yorker portraits include those of Saul Bellow, Hillary Clinton, Toni Morrison, Derek Walcott, John Kerry, and Stephen Sondheim . In his later years, he continued to contribute to Egoïste, where his photographs appeared from 1984 through 2000 . In 1999, Avedon shot the cover photos for Japanese - American singer Hikaru Utada's Addicted to You . </P> <P> Photographer Annie Leibovitz names Avedon as a major influence, describing his style as' personal reportage', developing close rapport with one's subjects . </P> <P> One of the things Avedon is distinguished by as a photographer is his large prints, sometimes measuring over three feet in height . His large - format portrait work of drifters, miners, cowboys and others from the western United States became a best - selling book and traveling exhibit entitled In the American West, and is regarded as an important hallmark in 20th century portrait photography, and by some as Avedon's magnum opus . </P> <P> Serious heart inflammations hindered Avedon's health in 1974 . The troubling time inspired him to create a compelling collection from a new perspective . In 1979, he was commissioned by Mitchell A. Wilder (1913--1979), the director of the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, to complete the "Western Project ." Wilder envisioned the project to portray Avedon's take on the American West . It became a turning point in Avedon's career when he focused on everyday working class subjects such as miners soiled in their work clothes, housewives, farmers and drifters on larger - than - life prints, instead of the more traditional options of focusing upon noted public figures or the openness and grandeur of the West . The project lasted five years concluding with an exhibition and a catalogue . It allowed Avedon and his crew to photograph 762 people and expose approximately 17,000 sheets of 8 × 10 Kodak Tri-X Pan film . The collection identified a story within his subjects of their innermost self, a connection Avedon admits would not have happened if his new sense of mortality through severe heart conditions and aging hadn't occurred . Avedon visited and traveled through state fair rodeos, carnivals, coal mines, oil fields, slaughter houses and prisons to find subjects . In 1994, Avedon revisited his subjects who would later speak about In the American West aftermath and its direct effects . Billy Mudd, a trucker, went long periods of time on his own away from his family . He was a depressed, disconnected and lonely man before Avedon offered him the chance to be photographed . When he saw his portrait for the first time, Mudd saw that Avedon was able to reveal something about Mudd that allowed him to recognize the need for change in his life . The portrait transformed Mudd, and led him to quit his job and return to his family . </P>

Who is the first photographer that is discussed in the reading from his in the american west series
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