Photographs by Snowdon: A Retrospective Book

Society and Snowdon are names that are synonymous with each other, and Anthony Armstrong-Jones has been at the forefront of that aspect of the British photography scene for an unbelievable half a century. With impeccable credentials--he was educated at Eton and Cambridge and married into the Royal family through his union with Princess Margaret, (they divorced in the 1970s)--Lord Snowdon has appeared, both in person and in his work, as the epitome of groomed elegance and exquisite taste. Photographs by Snowdon: a Retrospective, accompanying the National Portrait Gallery exhibition of the same name, shows his best work, and reveals that just about anyone who is anyone has been captured for posterity through Snowdon's lens. A contributor to Life, The Sunday Times and Vogue, Snowdon has caught some astonishing moments and people. A rather portly, bow-tie wearing Christian Dior, a smouldering Rudolf Nureyev and a smiling Francis Bacon dominate the 1960s; a cardigan-wearing John Betjeman and shrunken Agatha Christie stand out among his 1970s portraits, while the 1980s see such classic images as Bruce Chatwin, the eternal traveller with his walking boots strapped to his back, Barabara Cartland, doyenne of romantic fiction, resplendent in fuchsia pink, and a narcissistic, bare-chested Rupert Everett, a fledgling actor at the beginning of his career. But it isn't all about celebrities. Some of Snowdon's best work includes the series he did for the Sunday Times entitled "Mental Hospitals" in 1968; and a strong sense of compassion is also evident in his portraits of polio victims from Angola in 1999. This is a wide-ranging, beautifully produced book from a highly respected master of his craft. --Catherine TaylorRead More