A honey farm CEO offers new details on one of the most recognizable portraits in art

A Texas honey farm founder says he has recovered new details about Richard Avedon’s most famous photograph.

A fashion photographer who shot movie stars and presidents for decades, Avedon—who died in San Antonio in 2004—was also known for his portrait photography.

In 1979, he was commissioned by the Amon Carter Museum to complete a series of photographs that became a bestselling book focused on people with overlooked occupations, “In the American West.”

The series of photographs includes “Ronald Fischer, beekeeper, Davis, California, May 9, 1981,” a portrait of a man covered in bees.

Laura Wilson, a Dallas photographer and mother of actors Owen and Luke Wilson, worked with Avedon for the series.

Konrad Bouffard, CEO and founder of Round Rock Honey, is a longtime beekeeper with a passion for art. He recently helped a well-known photographer, who he cannot name, create an image reminiscent of Avedon’s iconic beekeeper portrait.

“He contacted me because I set up some beehives on his property,” Bouffard said. “He said he had a shoot in L.A. with an A-lister, and she wants to have bees in the shot. I’ve done a lot of bee beards, but there’s a huge difference with developing that kind of look in the Avedon photo.”

For advice, Bouffard visited celebrity honeybee expert Norman Gary, the man who trained the bees for Avedon’s photo four decades ago.

“At the end of our visit he handed me a folder of things related to the Avedon shoot,” Bouffard said. “The very first letter was from Laura Wilson. There was also a letter from Ron Fischer that included a polaroid.”

Bouffard is now planning to loan the documents to the Amon Carter Museum for academic research.

He also says he found Fischer.

“Even Dr. Gary thought Ron Fischer, the original model for the photo, had died,” Bouffard said.

Initially unable to find any indication that Fischer was still alive, Bouffard eventually wondered if the beekeeper who became a famous model was also selling honey.

“I called the market manager just on a hunch,” Bouffard said. He found out that Fischer is still alive and indeed selling honey at a farmer’s market. Bouffard made contact with the famous beekeeper and even reconnected him with Gary.

Reached by phone, Fischer confirmed the authenticity of the polaroid and his letter to Gary, who he recommended to Avedon. “It was one of Avedon’s favorite photographs,” Fischer said, reflecting on the famous image. “He took about a hundred photos of me.”

As it turns out, being a honey farm founder put Bouffard in a unique position to recover previously unknown material that adds new details and context to one of the most recognizable portraits in American art.

This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 10:00 AM.