Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection

Excellent exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum highlighting Sir Elton John and David Furnish’s photographic collection.

I’d seen highlights of the collection before at Tate Modern but it was good to see a more comprehensive show.

It was gently themed starting with fashion, moving through celebrity, the male form, documentary photography and ending with abstract pieces. It did feel like the more popular work came first but that might just be my taste.

The pictures and rooms were well described and I found lots of stories to follow up. The emphasis was very much on the works not the collectors.

I was quite pleased with how many photographers I recognised from other shows. I think my favourite picture was this one by Hiro (Yasuhiro Wakabayashi) of Shinjuku Station in Tokyo and I was surprised to find it had been taken in 1963 as it felt very contemporary.

Closes 5 January 2025


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