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Legendary photographer Richard Avedon captured British model Jean Shrimpton in “Heroines All - A Romantic Charade Starring Jean Shrimpton’.

The fashion story appeared in US Vogue April 15, 1968.

There has been much speculation over the years regarding the nature of the relationship between famed fashion photographer Richard Avedon and British model Jean Shrimpton.

The two worked closely together during the 1960s, a time when both were at the height of their careers.

Many of Avedon's most iconic images feature Shrimpton, who was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and influential models of her generation. Their collaborations produced some of the most memorable fashion photographs of the era, including the famous 1965 Harper's Bazaar editorial "The Shrimpton Skirt."

The title of the fashion story “Heroines All - A Romantic Charade Starring Jean Shrimpton” intrigues, because although Richard Avedon was unquestionably committed to the civil rights movement in America, his views on feminism were much more complicated.

For starters, Avedon was born in 1923. The 19th amendment giving American women the right to vote was first introduced to Congress in 1878 and was finally certified 42 years later in 1920.

Richard Avedon was vocal about his opposition to the feminist movement and the concept of gender equality, although in 1983, Avedon made the decision to hire a young, up-and-coming photographer named Annie Leibovitz as his new protégé.

In an interview with The New Yorker in 1988, prominent feminist and activist Gloria Steinem mentioned Richard Avedon as one of several photographers who had "created a style and a language in which women are objectified."

Steinem called out his use of nudity and suggested that his images perpetuated the idea that women exist solely for the pleasure of men.

Ironically, Richard Avedon took one of the most iconic photographs of Gloria Steinem, which was featured on the cover of the August 26, 1971 issue of New York Magazine. The photograph shows Steinem leaning against a wall, with her aviator glasses pushed up on top of her head, and a slight smile on her face.

It’s correct to say that these Jean Shrimpton images are no obvious connection to the Gloria Steinem photograph.