Vanity Fair Portraits

Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of portrait photographs from the magazine, Vanity Fair.

It devotes space to both the early works from 1913 to 1936 and since it’s relaunch in 1983. In the early section there is an emphasis on the avant guarde surprisingly at that period the British seem to be that. This included wonderful photos of Virginia Woolf, Augusts John, Adolfus Huxley etc. They also show hints of the later artist styles of photographs such as in the portrait of Gloria Swanson taken through lace.

Linking the two periods is an examination of the publications two head photographs Edward Steichen in the early period and Annie Leibovitz in the later one. I have always been fond of Leibovitz’s work and the prize in this exhibition was the picture of the cyclist Lance Armstrong.

It is very hard to pick a favourite from this show as all the works are so good but in my list would be the 21st birthday photo of Prince William, the portrait of Jesse Owens and that of Rachel Welch with the naked US Olympic 800m freestyle swim team!

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