Marilyn Monroe: A British Love Affair

The National Portrait Gallery is holding an exhibition of photographs of Marilyn Monroe. Photographs and magazine covers from 1947 to 1962 celebrate the transformation of the world’s most popular pin-up to acclaimed actress, highlighting the British photographers and personalities who admired her and worked with her.

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE

29 September 2012 – 24 March 2013 The exhibition is free and in room 33

© Ed Pfizenmaier

Edith Sitwell and Marilyn Monroe, 1953 Photograph by George Silk/LIFE – © Time Inc

© Cecil Beaton Studio Archive, Sotheby’s London

© Cecil Beaton Studio Archive, Sotheby’s London

See more of the NPG Monroe archive here

Jooney Woodward wins Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize

From the BJP and the BBC we learn of the winner of the prestigious Taylor Wessing Portrait award

“The winning image was taken in the guinea pig judging area at the Royal Welsh Show, says winner Jooney Woodward. “I found her image immediately striking with her long, red hair and white stewarding coat. She is holding her own guinea pig called Gentleman Jack, named after the Jack Daniel’s whisky box in which he was given to her. Using natural light from a skylight above, I took just three frames and this image was the first.” Woodward used a Mamiya RZ medium format camera to shoot her winning image.

Woodward, who studied graphic design at the Camberwell College of Arts, received a £12,000 cash prize last night, as the National Portrait Gallery unveiled its 2011 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait exhibition.

The exhibition is opened until 12 February 2012 and features a selection of 60 portraits chosen from among 6033 submissions entered by 2506 photographers.”

Harriet and Gentleman Jack, 2010 by Jooney Woodward © Jooney Woodward

Jasper Clarke’s Wen was taken from a personal project depicting artists and musicians who live in their work spaces.

David Knight’s picture of 15-year-old Andie Poetschka was commissioned by Loud for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance to raise awareness of the condition throughout Australia. This is the third year running that his work has been included in the exhibition, but is the first time on the shortlist.

Dona Schwartz’s portrait captured Christina and Mark Bigelow in their son’s empty bedroom as part of a series of photos which explore moments of change in parents’ lives. Last year, her portrait of expectant parents was chosen for the exhibition.

Jill Wooster captured her friend Lili for her picture, which was taken as part of a series of photos portraying women in their forties and fifties at “pivotal stages of their lives”, Wooster said.

“For the first time five photographers – instead of four – have been shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. …The winner receives £12,000, but there are smaller cash amounts for all four runners up….The final shortlist was determined by a panel of judges from 6,000 submissions from a mixture of established and emerging photographic talent. The judges also selected 60 images, which will be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery…..Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said determining the shortlist always “produces much creative debate about what makes an exceptional portrait today”. …… The exhibition begins on 10 November and will run until February next year. The winner was announced today.”

For the full article from the BJP written by Olivier Laurent please go here

 

Portrait Salon des Refuses

Whilst alerting you to some tangential stuff that is out there, this is also interesting and definitely has a photographic link

“Portrait Salon is a form of Salon des Refusés – an exhibition of works rejected from a juried art show – which has a long tradition as a fringe way of showcasing artists’ work that may otherwise go unseen. Devised by two portrait photographers, who are both based in London and are professionally involved in the city’s photographic community, Portrait Salon aims to show the best of the unselected entries from the National Portrait Gallery Photography Prize. We figure that, out of the 6000+ rejected entries, there must be some damn fine portraits which deserve to be shown.

We want to see these portraits, and we want to celebrate their brilliance with a projection (time and place to be confirmed) which no doubt will be accompanied by a little bit of a party. The projection will be curated, so we will be selecting the best portraits that we receive. But we expect to show a much higher percentage of work than at the National Gallery.

If you submitted work to the National Gallery Photography Portrait Prize and got rejected, please email a jpeg of your submission to portraitsalon@hotmail.com. The images need to be jpegs, at 1000 pixels on the longest edge. And please spread the word about this… we want as many submissions as we can!”

“We are two portrait photographers based in London and are professionally involved in the city’s photographic community. Our aim is to show the best of the unselected entries from the 2011 Taylor Wessing National Portrait Gallery Photography Prize. We figure that, out of the 5,973 rejected entries, there must be some excellent portraits which deserve to be shown in a show. Portrait Salon is a form of Salon des Refusés – an exhibition of works rejected from a juried art show – which has a long tradition of showcasing artists’ work that may otherwise go unseen. “
So unless your images were selected for the Taylor Wessing NPG Portrait competition here is a great chance to cock a snook at the establishment.

For more information go here

Pictures by Adrian Nettleship, the second by Manuel Capurso

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shortlist unveiled for Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011

“For the first time ever,” five photographers have been shortlisted for the £12,000 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. The photographers are Jasper Clarke, David Knight, Dona Schwartz, Jooney Woodward and Jill Wooster. In a statement, Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery, says: “Five great portraits emerged from closely argued discussion amongst the judges, and from another outstanding international submission for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize.” From The BJP Author: Olivier Laurent

Wen, 2011 by Jasper Clarke © Jasper Clarke

Read more: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2109341/shortlist-unveiled-taylor-wessing-photographic-portrait-prize-2011#ixzz1Y1J890FO
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New photographic portrait of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh

A new portrait photograph of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the first to be commissioned of the two together, has been released by the National Portrait Gallery in London, as part of an exhibition to mark next year’s Diamond Jubilee called The Queen: Art and Image.the exhibition information is

National Portrait Gallery

17 May – 21 October 2012

Porter Gallery

 

Queen Elizabeth II
by Dorothy Wilding, hand-coloured by Beatrice Johnson
1952
NPG x125105

Touring

• National Gallery Complex, Edinburgh
  25 June–18 September 2011 
• National Museums Northern Ireland
  14 October 2011–15 January 2012 
• National Museum Cardiff
  4 February – 29 April 2012

The new portrait by Thomas Struth can be seen on the BBC website and there is a recording of Struth talking about the image

Thomas Struth (born 1954) is a German photographer whose wide-ranging work includes depictions of detailed cityscapes, Asian jungles and family portraits. He is one of Germany’s most widely exhibited and collected fine art photographers. Struth currently lives and works in Berlin…more about Struth

If you want to see more of Struth’s work here is a link to his website

The STREET PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

The International Street Photography Award is looking for the world’s best street photographer as part of the first annual London Street Photography Festival in 2011.

 

Cecil Beaton – photographer

Cecil Beaton, the world famous fashion and portrait photographer who died 21 years ago today left a huge and varied body of work. His work was regularly featured Vogue and Vanity Fair and his trademark theatrical style of photography is still copied today. This brief biography from the NPG explains his career

“Photographer and designer. Born in Hampstead, Beaton’s career as a portrait photographer took off after meeting the Sitwells in 1926. His photographs of them led to his employment with Vogue magazine in London and New York. During the war he worked for the Ministry of Information, recording the war in Britain, the Middle and Far East. After the war he developed as a designer for stage, film, ballet and opera, working with Noel Coward and others. His most famous production was My Fair Lady (1956), the musical based on Shaw’s Pygmalion. He was awarded two Oscars for the film version in 1965.”

This full article from The Telegraph has more information

Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the NPG London

The exhibition

The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010 presents the very best in contemporary portrait photography, showcasing the work of talented young photographers and gifted amateurs alongside that of established professionals and photography students.

Through editorial, advertising and fine art images, the entrants have explored a range of themes, styles and approaches to the contemporary photographic portrait, from formal commissioned portraits to more spontaneous and intimate moments capturing friends and family.

This year the competition attracted nearly 6,000 submissions from over 2,400 photographers from around the world. The selected sixty works for the exhibition include the four prize-winners and the winner of the ELLE commission.

Exhibiting many photographs for the first time, the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010 is a unique opportunity to see images by some of the most exciting contemporary portrait photographers working today.

Felix Carpio

Hereford Photography Festival.

If this photo festival is half as good as the Brighton Photography Biennial that closes on the 14th then it should definitely be worth a visit.

After two decades of hugely successful festivals, that have included exhibitions by established and emerging talent from all over the world, it was our challenge this year to design a programme that not only lives up to our past, but that makes a decisive stride into the future.

The festival began with distinct aims; to bring great photographers and photography to the region and to actively engage audiences, all of which remain at the very heart of our ambitions. TWENTY- co-curated by Paul Seawright – is our celebration of the festival’s legacy; a retrospective of some of the great photographers we have exhibited in the past. I’m also delighted to be presenting newly commissioned work by renowned photographer Tessa Bunney and to be exhibiting the very finest new talent in OPEN HERE, our open submission exhibition.

http://www.photofest.org/

Simon Norfolk