Angus McBean: Facemaker
| Author |
Adrian Woodhouse |
| Language |
English |
| Genre(s) |
Biography |
| Publisher |
Alma Books (UK) |
| Publication date |
July 2006 |
| Media type |
Print (Hardback) |
| Pages |
408 |
| ISBN |
ISBN 1-84688-008-4 |
Angus McBean (June 8, 1904 - June 9, 1990), was a Welsh photographer, associated
with surrealism.
Biography
McBean was born in Newbridge, Monmouthshire, the son of a coal mine
surveyor. He bought his first camera - a 2 and a half x 3 and a half inch autographic Kodak - and tripod as the First World War was ending. Fascinated by
the apparently magical properties of photography, he wanted to be able to take pictures of people and sold a gold watch left to
him by his grandfather to raise the five pounds necessary for the equipment.[1]
Masks
In 1925, after his father's early death, McBean moved with his mother and younger sister to
Acton, London. He worked for Liberty's
department store in the antiques department learning
restoration, while his personal life was spent in photography, mask-making and watching plays in
the West End theatre. In 1932 he left Liberty and grew
his distinctive beard to symbolize the fact that he would never be a wage-slave again. The worked as a maker of theatrical
prop's, including a commission of medieval scenery for John Gielgud's 1933 production of "Richard of Bordeaux."
Hugh Cecil
McBean's masks became a talking point in social columns, and were much admired by the leading Bond Street photographer Hugh Cecil. Cecil offered McBean an assistant's
post at his Mayfair studio, and having learnt the secrets of Cecil's softer style and after
using the studio at night, McBean set up his own studio 18months later in a basement in Belgrave Road, Victoria, London.
Pre War Photography
The artist McBean as he was still known as a mask maker, gained a commission in 1936 from
Ivor Novello for masks for his play "The Happy
Hypocrite." Novello was so impressed with McBean's romantic photographs that he commissioned him to take a set of
production photographs as well, including young actress Vivien Leigh. The results, taken on
stage with McBean's idiosyncratic lighting, instantly replaced the set already made by the long-established but stolid Stage
Photo Company. McBean had a new career and a photographic leading lady: he was to photograph Vivien Leigh on stage and in the
studio for almost every performance she gave until her death thirty years later.
McBean resultantly became one of the most significant portrait photographers of the 20th century, and was known as a
photographer of celebrities. In the Spring of
1942 his career was temporarily ruined when he was arrested in Bath for criminal acts of homosexuality. He was sentenced to four
years in prison and was released in the autumn of
1944. After the Second World War, McBean was able to
successfully resume his career.[2]
Post World War 2
There were in effect two periods to McBeans career, his pre and post war phases. Pre war he was a lot more confident in
himself and experimented successfully with surrealism, indeed his work with the likes of Vivian Leigh are some of the most
accessible surrealist photographic images known. Post war he reverted to a more regular style of portraiture photography, nearly
always working with the entertainment and theatre profession.
In 1945, not sure whether he would find work again, McBean set up a new studio in a bomb-damaged
building in Endell Street, Covent Garden. He sold his Soho camera for £35, and bought a
new half-plate Kodak View monorail camera to which he attached his trusted Zeiss lenses. McBean
was commissioned first by the Stratford Memorial Theatre to photograph a production of "Anthony and Cleopatra", and all his former clients quickly returned. Through the late 1940s and
50s he was the official photographer at Stratford, the Royal Opera House,
Sadlers Wells, Glyndebourne, the
Old Vic and at all the productions of H.M. Tennent, servicing
the theatrical, musical and ballet star system. Magazines such as the Daily Sketch and
Tatler vied to commission McBean's new series of surreal portraits.
McBean's later works included being the photographer for The Beatles' first album,
surrealist work as well as classic photographs of individuals such as Agatha Christie,
Audrey Hepburn, and Noel Coward. Both periods or his
work (pre and post war) are now eagerly sought by collectors and his work sits in many major collections around the world.
Occlusion
Two figures have occluded McBean from gaining the full fame he deserves - the first being Cecil
Beaton, who's lavish lifestyle and work for Vogue and the British Royal Family provided at the time more credit to his work than it may deserve. And secondly
that of David Bailey who though coming much later (1960's) was also close to
Cecil Beaton both personally and in terms of style. Bailey is an iconic figure in the world of fashion photography just as was
Beaton before him - McBean sadly did not enjoy this level of fame either in his life or after death, even though he was arguably
the better technically and artistically. Additionally McBean's focus on the world of theatre
(particularly London's West End) did not give him the international recognition that he
probably deserved. In 2007 seven original negavites by McBean were accidentally thrown in the bin at the HQ of EMI (Source:
The Sun)
References
- National Museum Cardiff - Exhibitions 2006/07
External links
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