The Photographers 2012

About

Our annual celebration of the very finest photography from 1850 to the present day is always a major event in the gallery's calendar. Now in its third year, The Photographers is a collector's delight filled with rare and unusual material. The star pieces in this year's exhibition are 14 rare photographs of Her Majesty The Queen. They come from the prestigious Ford Hill collection and consist of signed, unseen works by photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Yousuf Karsh and Dorothy Wilding. Mr Hill, an American professor of music, began collecting portraits of the Queen in 1967, and by 1997 had over 300 photographic prints one of the largest and most significant collections in the world. The Queen is captured throughout her reign, including as a young Princess, as Queen at her coronation, and as a mother to her beloved sons. In 2010 Mr Hill donated 256 portraits to the National Portrait Gallery London, and we are very proud to offer part of the remaining collection in this exhibition. In addition the Photographers 2012 contains a collection of works spanning over 200 years, taken by some of the greatest photographers of all time. We will be exhibiting works from 19th and 20th century masters including Herbert Ponting, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen and Irving Penn. Alongside we will introduce new contemporary photographers to the gallery, namely Aberlado Morell, Matthew Pillsbury and Olaf Otto Becker, Lottie Davies and Julia Fullerton-Batten.