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'Monumental Ideas about dressing', for Queen magazine, December 1962

Photograph
1962 (made)
Artist/Maker
Cowan, John (photographers)

John Cowan was a leading fashion photographer during the 1960s. His photographs epitomised the playful, graphically dynamic style of commercial photography practised in London during the period. In 1962 he met the model Jill Kennington, sparking an exciting period of high-octane image-making for numerous magazines and newspapers.

This image comes from a series taken for Queen magazine in which Kennington poses against a backdrop of historical sculpture. Wearing a lamb jacket and hat by Maxwell Croft, she stands beside the statue of the Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott, in Waterloo Place. Her defiant stance seems to challenge the traditional, establishment attitudes that can be seen in much public sculpture, reflecting other social upheavals during the decade.


Object details

Categories
Fashion
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
Title'Monumental Ideas about dressing', for Queen magazine, December 1962 (series title)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin-silver print
Brief description
Monumental Ideas about Dressing, for Queen magazine, December 1962, (printed later), John Cowan, gelatin-silver print, given by Carolyn Cowan
Physical description
Fashion study of a model in a black and white shaggy coat and hat standing on the plinth of a monumental bronze outdoor sculpture.
Dimensions
  • Width: 67cm
  • Height: 93cm
Style
Sixties
Gallery label
  • John Cowan captured the spirit and the explosive energy of the revolution in British culture which took shape in the early sixties. Self-taught, he had started working as a freelance photographer in 1958. Within a year his strong documentary and informal portrait work became the subject of a one-man exhibition, 'Through the Light Barrier'. Cowan soon found his metier as a fashion photographer. His 1962 meeting with model Jill Kennington sparked an exciting period of high-octane image-making for numerous magazines and newspapers. In 1966 his studio provided the principal set for Antonioni's film, 'Blow-Up'. Cowan himself was prominent among the new generation of photographers whose lifestyles provided the inspiration for the film's central character. Cowan was ambitious and reckless. The adventurous spirit that injected such energy into his pictures was ill-adapted to the practical aspects of sustaining his success. By the end of the decade he was in financial difficulties and falling out of step with the world of fashion. He left London for Milan, Paris and New York. Returning in 1970, he was unable to pick up the pieces of his career. His exhilarating work of the sixties was soon forgotten and his reputation eclipsed.(1999)
  • ‘Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography’, 2014. Label text: John Cowan (1929–79) Monumental Ideas about Dressing Jill Kennington wears lamb jacket and hat by Maxwell Croft Waterloo Place, London Queen, 1962 In his first significant feature for Queen, Cowan photographed his then girlfriend Kennington against numerous well-known London landmarks, including this statue of Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott. Her defiant stance seems to challenge traditional establishment attitudes, perhaps a comment on the social upheavals of the time. Gelatin silver print Given by Carolyn Cowan Museum no. E.2054-2004 (07 03 2014)
Credit line
Given by Carolyn Cowan
Summary
John Cowan was a leading fashion photographer during the 1960s. His photographs epitomised the playful, graphically dynamic style of commercial photography practised in London during the period. In 1962 he met the model Jill Kennington, sparking an exciting period of high-octane image-making for numerous magazines and newspapers.

This image comes from a series taken for Queen magazine in which Kennington poses against a backdrop of historical sculpture. Wearing a lamb jacket and hat by Maxwell Croft, she stands beside the statue of the Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott, in Waterloo Place. Her defiant stance seems to challenge the traditional, establishment attitudes that can be seen in much public sculpture, reflecting other social upheavals during the decade.
Bibliographic references
  • John Cowan, through the light barrier, by Philippe Garner, Schirmer/Mosel, 1999
  • Triple exposure: 3 photographers from the 60s. Ron Traeger. Michael Cooper. John Cowan, V&A, 1999
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.2054-2004

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Record createdFebruary 9, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O92304/monumental-ideas-about-dressing-for-photograph-cowan-john/
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