Early Life and Artistic Foundations Irving Penn, born in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1917 to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, embarked on a journey that would redefine the boundaries of photography. His early exposure to art came through studies at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art, where he honed his skills in drawing, painting, and graphic design under the tutelage of Alexey Brodovitch—a pivotal figure who instilled i…