Glitz, glamour and iconic figures captured on film
The National Portrait Gallery is the most wonderful gallery in London. Walking through its corridors you see iconic images of anyone and everyone you can think of, from the earliest paintings of the British monarchy through to iconic works of figures from modern society. It also frequently puts on fantastic shows, including the upcoming Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize 2005, which starts on 9 November.
The World's Most Photographed is an exhibition that leads the viewer through the much-publicised lives of Queen Victoria, Gandhi, Hitler, Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, John F Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali. We see the ways in which they used and manipulated the medium of photography in order to create the personas by which we know them best. Each display shows a timeline of images, from the famous and iconic to those suppressed for showing the wrong side of their subject and those simply forgotten over time.
The exhibition examines the propaganda used by four contrasting political figures; Queen Victoria, Gandhi, Hitler and John F Kennedy; in order to ensure that they were regarded in the best light possible. The differences are shown by the growing simplicity of the photographic style of the images of Gandhi reflect his increasing political influence over the repressed classes of India in the 1930s and 40s. Just as interesting are the images rejected for being unsuitable, particularly a comical photo of Hitler in lederhosen.
The photographs displayed of Greta Garbo are particularly insightful into a life surrounded by mystery. Although a major Hollywood icon, Garbo strictly controlled her image in the press. After her withdrawal from the limelight in 1941, she continued to be followed and photographed for a public still intrigued by her secretive lifestyle. In later years she was stalked by photographer Ted Leyson, and the display of his slides shows her aged face still defiant of the camera just a few days before her death.
Other highlights of the show include some fabulously romantic shots taken by Cecil Beaton of Audrey Hepburn during the filming of My Fair Lady, three powerful shots of Muhammad Ali training underwater, four photos of Elvis Presley drinking in a strip-club, and a bizarre series of photographs of James Dean climbing in and out of caskets in a funeral parlour.
The exhibition was produced in collaboration with the BBC, who produced an accompanying series of documentaries on the lives of each of the subjects.
