- Jane Bown
[
Orson Welles , 1951.]
[John Lennon , 1963.]Jane Bown (born 1925) is a British photographer who has worked for "
The Observer " newspaper in theUnited Kingdom since 1949. Herportrait s of the famous of the 20th and 21st centuries have received critical acclaim, earning her an exhibition of her work in the National Portrait Gallery inLondon in 1980.She works primarily in
black-and-white , using available light, with a forty year old camera. She has photographed hundreds of subjects, includingQueen Elizabeth II for her eightieth birthday,Orson Welles ,Samuel Beckett , SirJohn Betjeman ,Woody Allen ,Cilla Black ,Quentin Crisp ,P. J. Harvey ,John Lennon ,Truman Capote ,John Peel ,Richard Nixon , thegangster Charlie Richardson ,Field Marshal SirGerald Templer ,Jarvis Cocker ,Jayne Mansfield ,Diana Dors ,Henri Cartier-Bresson ,Eve Arnold ,Evelyn Waugh ,Jean Cocteau ,Brassai andMargaret Thatcher . Her extensive photojournalism output includes series on Hop Pickers,Greenham Common evictions,Butlin's holiday resort, theBritish Seaside , and in 2002,Glastonbury festival .She was born in
Dorset , and first worked as achart corrector , which included a role inplotting the D-Day invasion. She studied photography atGuildford College underIfor Thomas . She started out as a child portrait photographer, but got her big break when she received atelegram in 1949 fromMechthild Nawiasky an "Observer"picture editor , asking her to photograph the philosopherBertrand Russell .Exhibitions include
'The Gentle Eye' , National Portrait Gallery, London (1980-1),'Rock 1963-2003' and'Unknown Bown 1947-1967' Guardian Newsroom, London (2007-8). A survey of Bown's mostly unseen, social documentary and photo journalism output which has been collected in a book of the same name.In 2007 her work on the Greenham Common evictions was selected by
Val Williams andSusan Bright as part of , the first major survey of photography to be held at Tate Britain. Other photographers in the show included;Madame Yevonde ,Robert Smithies (previously a member of staff at the Manchester Guardian),Martin Parr ,Jem Southam ,Percy Hennell ,Eric Hosking ,Anna Fox ,Daniel Meadows ,Angus McBean ,Paul Graham andDorothy Bohm .Publications include
The Gentle Eye (1980),Women of Consequence (1986),Men of Consequence (1987) ,The Singular Cat (1988),Pillars of the Church (1991), (2000),Rock 1963-2003 (2003) andUnknown Bown 1947-1967 (2007).In 1985, she was awarded an MBE and in 1995, she was "upgraded" to the CBE.
Collections include
Palace of Westminster , London and National Portrait Gallery, London.External links
* [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/specialreport/story/0,8224,212437,00.html Biography at The Observer]
* [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp07814&role=art Jane Bown, National Portrait Gallery collection]
* [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/page/0,11821,1009693,00.html Jane Bown's Observer website]
* [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/photography/story/0,,2173276,00.html Germaine Greer introduces 'Unknown Bown 1947-1967']
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/04/2006_13_wed.shtml BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour interview]
* [http://www.tate.org.uk/about/pressoffice/pressreleases/2007/8986.htm Tate Britain, 'How We Are: Photographing Britain' Press Release]
* [http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/howweare/rooms/room5.htm Tate Britain, 'How We Are: Photographing Britain', Guide to Room 5 - 'The Urge to Document 1970-1990' which included work on the 1984 Greeham Common evictions by Jane Bown]
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