New York  - US photographer Irving Penn, whose pioneering work blurred the line between fashion and art photography, has died at his Manhattan home at the age of 92, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Penn was a known for his blend of elegance and minimalism and his photographs included sensuous portraits of fashion icons like Marlene Dietrich, close-ups of cigarette butts and other street debris.

He was also known for his meticulous photographs of indigenous people around the world, and his work was shown at major galleries including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

His series of more than 250 photos of butchers, bakers and others in "The Small Trades" was acquired by Los Angeles' J. Paul Getty Museum in 2008 and is on display until January 2010.

Called a "grand master of American fashion" by the Los Angeles Times, Penn was born in 1917 and stared contributing to Vogue magazine in 1943. He was married to his favourite model Lisa Fonssagrives from 1950 to her death in 1992 and is the brother of film director Arthur Penn. (dpa)