Posted on
2016-09-19
Karsh was one of the most respected and acclaimed photographers of the century. Fascinated by “greatness”, he aimed to capture the essential character of his sitters, instilling them with both charisma and dignity in his nearly 60-year career. A highlight of the exhibition is Karsh’s iconic wartime portrait of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Taken in 1941, whilst Churchill was visiting Ottawa, the portrait was a career-defining break for Karsh. Churchill refused to discard his cigar but Karsh took the cigar out of the politician’s mouth and managed to capture the glare of the world’s most famous politician of the time. Published worldwide by newspapers and magazines, the photograph established Karsh’s international reputation and was one of the most reproduced photographs in history
After the huge success of Karsh’s Churchill portrait, high-profile commissions followed, many of which are included in this exhibition. On show will be Karsh’s 1951 portrait of Princess Elizabeth; his portrait of Fidel Castro whilst Prime Minister of Cuba in 1971 a sitting fuelled by Cuban rum and Coke; Pablo Picasso in his ceramics gallery in 1954; actress Audrey Hepburn in Paramount Studios in 1956; playwright George Bernard-Shaw in 1943 when he was almost ninety; Grace Kelly in 1956 when she was newly engaged to the Prince of Monaco; Ernest Hemmingway in 1957 who requested to wear a sweater for the sitting as he had seen Karsh’s portrait of Einstein in a sweater; and Jacques Costeau in 1972 amongst others. By the time the Karsh studio closed in 1992 after nearly 60 years of business, he had photographed every Canadian prime minister since Mackenzie King, every French president since Charles de Gaulle, every British prime minister since Winston Churchill and every U.S. president since Herbert Hoover.
Opposite – Jacques Cousteau, 1972
Exhibition runs through to October 22nd, 2016
Beetles & Huxley
3-5 Swallow Street
London
W1B 4DE
www.beetlesandhuxley.com
