David (Royston) Bailey

(b London, 2 Jan 1938). English photographer. Self-taught, he began in 1959 as an assistant to the fashion photographer John French (1907-66) in London. From 1960 he worked for the English version of Vogue and as a freelance photographer for the Sunday Times, the Daily Express, Elle, Glamour and other publications; he also directed television commercials and, from 1968 to 1972, television documentary films. His main photographic subjects were portraits, fashion (for illustration see DRESS, fig. 60) and nudes. His reputation was at its peak in the 1960s, when he and the model Veruschka (Vera Lehndorff) provided the basis for the fictional characters in Michelangelo Antonioni's film Blow Up (1966). Bailey's photographs of this period were published in books such as The Truth about Modelling, Box of Pin-ups and Goodbye Baby and Amen, which also enhanced the myth of swinging London. In 1972 Bailey began publishing the magazine Ritz, in partnership with the photographer Patrick Lichfield (b 1939). David Bailey's Trouble and Strife, a book devoted to his third wife, Marie Helvin, shows his continuing concern with the personality of the model, while such publications as Another Image: Papua New Guinea and Imagine reveal a social and political awareness. He continued to expand his range of subject-matter with NW1: Urban Landscape.

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Bailey, David (b. 1938), English photographer, brought up in east London. Childhood painting gave him respite from the academic underachievement caused by undetected dyslexia and irregular wartime schooling. Later, cinema was an important influence, offering intimations of glamour (mostly American), fame, and sophistication. In the late 1950s he admired Cartier-Bresson's photographs of women in the Himalayas.

After national service, Bailey assisted the fashion photographer John French, went freelance in 1960, and, aged 22, began working for Vogue. Using a 35 mm single-lens reflex enabled him to shoot outdoors with a ‘from-the-hip’ immediacy in keeping with the volatile atmosphere of the time. Spontaneity of gesture and the incorporation of random elements brought a filmic quality to his photographs that reflected his enthusiasm for French New Wave cinema. His portraits form an extended document of the iconic personalities of the later 20th century. With his stark, direct, high-contrast style he became the incisive interpreter of an era, while himself personifying the ‘photographer as iconic sixties type’ recreated in Michelangelo Antonioni's film Blowup (1967). His first publication, David Bailey's Box of Pin-ups (1965; literally a picture box rather than a book), contained portraits of pop stars, art directors, actors, models, and photographers. Later titles included Trouble and Strife (1980), If We Shadows (1992), The Lady is a Tramp (1995), David Bailey's Rock and Roll Heroes (1997), and Chasing Rainbows (2001). He has also directed documentary films and television commercials.

— Amanda Nevill

Bibliography

• Harrison, M., David Bailey, Birth of the Cool: 1957-1969 (2000)