David Bailey

Born in London, David Bailey (*1938) is widely acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of contemporary photography, having shot some of the most iconic portraits of the last five decades. He has continued to document leading figures of the cultural zeitgeist, including, among many others, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Andy Warhol, gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray, Mickey Rourke and Kate Moss. Bailey’s early work helped both define and capture the atmosphere of fashionable 1960s London, when he made stars of a new generation of models, including Jean Shrimpton and Penelope Tree. Bailey channeled the energy of London’s newly informal street culture into his work, and created a new style of casual coolness. Drawing inspiration from Modernism, Bailey injected a sense of movement and immediacy into his work by using a very direct, cropped perspective. Bailey’s interests are varied and extend beyond photography to commercials, film, painting and sculpture.