Vince Aletti has spent decades looking at pictures. As the current photography critic for The New Yorker and art editor for The Village Voice (1994 –2005), he’s studied tens of thousands—maybe hundreds of thousands—of images. When I asked him to choose one picture to discuss, amazingly he didn’t hesitate: it would be the Richard Avedon photograph “Lew Alcindor, Basketball Player, New York City, May 2, 1963.”

The image is an undeniably great work by one of the masters of 20th-century photography, but for Vince, it’s a personal connection that elevates it.

Listen to discover how Vince first came upon this photograph in a special 1965 issue of Harper’s Bazaar. Vince describes how the magazine and the photograph affected him and how that influence continues today.

Lew Alcindor, the teenager pictured in the portrait, grew up to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the greatest players in the history of the sport (and today he maintains an equally impressive career off the court).

This Perfect Portrait tells the story of a photographer, his subject, and one viewer whose passion for the image has shaped his way of looking for more than 50 years.

The cover of the special 1965 issue of Harper’s Bazaar edited by Richard Avedon. Avedon’s portrait of Alcindor first appeared in this issue that Vince Aletti calls, “…the most important issue of a fashion magazine.”

Inside the issue, Avedon’s portrait of Alcindor directly across from the portrait of Marella Agnelli.

This photograph is also part of MOMA’s collection. But the context of its first appearance in this magazine is vital to understanding why Vince Aletti calls it ‘perfect.’