Beauty Photography in Vogue

For more than a half-century, beauty photography as distinct from fashion pictures has been a primary concern at Vogue, the magazine of style and sophistication founded in 1893. In this vivid, full-color assemblage, fashion photography critic Harrison (coauthor of Black and White Memories) maintains that photographers perceive beauty by ""adapting their approach to ever-changing demands.'' Mood and subject reflect the passing decadesSteichen's ethereal ideal, the wholesome beauty and poised enticement of a postwar baby-boom era, the startling graphics of a punk-rock age. Plates from various periods are grouped in categories: nude, action, close-up, etc. Thumbnail biographies are provided for the 67 photographers represented here, among them Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, John Rawlings and Bert Stern. (March)