David Bailey's box of pin-ups
Photograph
1965 (printed and published)
1965 (printed and published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
David Bailey rose to fame as a fashion photographer in the early 1960s, his photographs. He published 'David Bailey's box of pin-ups' in 1965 as a loose portfolio of 36 portraits of the mainly-male fashionable elite that, as the cover description states, 'belong to Bailey's own world of fashion, pop music and the Ad Lib [nightclub]'. Each portrait is accompanied by notes by Francis Wyndham.
Surprisingly, only four of the pin-ups are women, all of whom are models; as the notes explain, 'in the age of Mick Jagger, it is the boys who are the pin-ups'. Cecil Beaton was one of the most influential British portrait photographers of the 20th century. He was one of the first to raise the profile of the portrait photographer in the public eye and was almost as much photographed himself as he photographed others. Indeed, his social mobility was such that during the 1960s he was as likely to be found photographing the Rolling Stones as the Royal family.
The portraits constitute a celebration of the growing celebrity culture of the Sixties, and many of them have become the definitive images of key figures of cultural life in London during the Swinging Sixties.
Surprisingly, only four of the pin-ups are women, all of whom are models; as the notes explain, 'in the age of Mick Jagger, it is the boys who are the pin-ups'. Cecil Beaton was one of the most influential British portrait photographers of the 20th century. He was one of the first to raise the profile of the portrait photographer in the public eye and was almost as much photographed himself as he photographed others. Indeed, his social mobility was such that during the 1960s he was as likely to be found photographing the Rolling Stones as the Royal family.
The portraits constitute a celebration of the growing celebrity culture of the Sixties, and many of them have become the definitive images of key figures of cultural life in London during the Swinging Sixties.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Half-tone print |
| Brief description | Cecil Beaton, half-tone print from 'David Bailey's box of pin-ups', by David Bailey, published 1965 |
| Physical description | Black and white half-tone portrait of Cecil Beaton in a black beret and moleskin suit against a white background, with his arms in the air and legs askew, as if dancing. |
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | David Bailey (b.1938)
Cecil Beaton, from David Bailey’s box of pin-ups
1965
David Bailey was part of a new generation of photographers making waves in 1960s ‘Swinging London’. He greatly admired Beaton and befriended the older photographer. Beaton’s own approach to photography changed with the times and he was nicknamed ‘Rip Van With-it’. He featured in David Bailey's box of pin-ups, a loose portfolio of 36 portraits of the fashionable elite of 1965.
Halftone print
Gift of Mark Haworth-Booth
V&A: E.2047:8-2004
(2012) |
| Credit line | Given by Mark Haworth-Booth |
| Object history | David Bailey rose to fame as a fashion photographer in the early 1960s, his photographs. He published 'David Bailey's box of pin-ups' in 1965 as a loose portfolio of 36 portraits of the mainly-male fashionable elite that, as the cover description states, 'belong to Bailey's own world of fashion, pop music and the Ad Lib [nightclub]'. Surprisingly, only four of the pin-ups are women, all of whom are models. As the notes explain, 'in the age of Mick Jagger, it is the boys who are the pin-ups'. The portraits constitute a celebration of the growing celebrity culture of the Sixties, and many of them have become the definitive images of key figures of cultural life in London during the Swinging Sixties. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | David Bailey rose to fame as a fashion photographer in the early 1960s, his photographs. He published 'David Bailey's box of pin-ups' in 1965 as a loose portfolio of 36 portraits of the mainly-male fashionable elite that, as the cover description states, 'belong to Bailey's own world of fashion, pop music and the Ad Lib [nightclub]'. Each portrait is accompanied by notes by Francis Wyndham. Surprisingly, only four of the pin-ups are women, all of whom are models; as the notes explain, 'in the age of Mick Jagger, it is the boys who are the pin-ups'. Cecil Beaton was one of the most influential British portrait photographers of the 20th century. He was one of the first to raise the profile of the portrait photographer in the public eye and was almost as much photographed himself as he photographed others. Indeed, his social mobility was such that during the 1960s he was as likely to be found photographing the Rolling Stones as the Royal family. The portraits constitute a celebration of the growing celebrity culture of the Sixties, and many of them have become the definitive images of key figures of cultural life in London during the Swinging Sixties. |
| Bibliographic reference | David Bailey's box of pin-ups, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1964 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.2047:8-2004 |
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| Record created | February 10, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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