David Bailey is a man with an ego bigger than Marianne Faithfull's pants ( I do love a pair of big pants) - and a retrospective to match. The National Portrait Gallery is showing 250 of the 76-year old photographer's fabulous portraits, some previously unseen, in an impressive overview of a career spanning more than half a century. I've always admired the simplicity of this working-class-lad-done-good's work. The clean, black and white portraits allow the sitter's character to show through - as well as the photographer's talent. And just in case you're inclined to forget exactly how much talent it takes to wield a camera, there are fridge magnets and notebooks in the gift shop to remind you.
There's Kate Moss and Mick in a parka, and me in a parka looking at Mick, I was papped by the Guardian at the preview. Wish I'd washed my hair.
Over the years all the great and the good from fashion, film and the arts have been sprinkled with Bailey's Stardust...
And there are rooms dedicated to his wife Catherine Bailey and the Rolling Stones. And while I love all the glitz and glamour, the photos of Jean Shrimpton and Jerry Hall, some of my favourite pictures are the 1962 images of the East End of London. And this early selfie with Salvador Dali:
Bailey's Stardust is on from 6 February - 1 June 2014. Go see it.
My favorite exhibits are these by the great photographers. Look at that devil, Jack Nicholson. And there's you, snapped by the press!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely going to see this one. I worked with Bailey many decades ago and he certainly was pretty tough with the models.
ReplyDeleteI love that you were photographed looking at photographs! I hope I get to London in time to see this.
ReplyDeleteMocking body sizes is so uncool.
ReplyDeleteccavanaugh - sorry I'm not sure what you mean (?) I'm not mocking body sizes, I think Marianne looks fabulous, really strong and I'm a huge fan of big pants. I'm going to tweak that sentence slightly to clarify.
ReplyDeleteDavid Bailey's been one of my heroes since the early 70s. I bought a poster in London of a photo of his ex-wife that hung in my dressing room for 30 years. An amazing talent. Thanks for reminding us.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Tim Burgess based his look on that photo of Mick - FACT! Its a huge favourite of mine, too.
ReplyDeleteCould you point Mazza in the direction of American Apparel - those lace knickers would look way sexier than those hideous kidney grippers! xxx
Beautiful and very stylish photos. I'd love to see this exhibition. xx
ReplyDeleteWish I could join you. Love exhibits like this one.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Your plait looks perfect.
P.P.S. Just looked again and okay, so maybe it's not in a plait after all, but it still looks very cool. XXOO
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see this... thank you for the reminder.... :) Fabulous portraits... that one of Marianne Faithful is classic xv
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