Norman Parkinson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Norman Parkinson (born London April 21, 1913, died 1990) was a celebrated English portrait and fashion photographer.
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[edit] Biography
He was schooled at Westminster School. He began his career in 1931 as an apprentice to the court photographers Speaight and Sons Ltd. In 1934 he opened his own studio together with Norman Kibblewhite. From 1935 to 1940 he worked for Harper's Bazaar and The Bystander magazines. During the Second World War he served as a reconnaissance photographer over France for the Royal Air Force. In 1947 he married the actress and model Wenda Rogerson. From 1945 to 1960 he was employed as a portrait and fashion photographer for Vogue. From 1960 to 1964 he was an Associate Contributing Editor of Queen magazine. In 1963 he moved to Tobago, although frequently returned to London, and from 1964 until his death he worked as a freelance photographer.
[edit] Photography
Parkinson always maintained he was a craftsman and not an artist. From his early days as a photographer up to his death he remained one of the foremost British portrait and fashion photographers. His work, following the lead of Munkacsi at Harper's Bazaar, revolutionised the world of British fashion photography in the '40s by bringing his models from the rigid studio environment into a far more dynamic outdoor setting. Humour played a central role in many of his photographs which often included himself. As well as magazine work he also created celebrated calendars featuring glamourous young women.
[edit] Interesting facts
- He wore a Kashmiri wedding hat while taking photographs.
- He spotted Nena the mother of Uma Thurman at age 16 in a playground in Stockholm, and brought her to London to model for Vogue (magazine).
- In order to revive the traditional British banger, he introduced his own brand of sausage in the mid 1980s. The "Porkinson's Banger" sausage was served on the Concorde and marketed as the worlds first supersonic sausage.
[edit] Quotations
- "The camera can be the most deadly weapon since the assassin's bullet. Or it can be the lotion of the heart".
- "I like to make people look as good as they'd like to look, and with luck, a shade better".
- "A photographer without a magazine behind him is like a farmer without fields".
- "The only thing that gets in the way of a really good photograph, is the camera".
[edit] Books
- Sisters under the skin (1978, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-72746-1)
- Would you let your daughter? (1987), Weidenfeld and Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-78683-0)
- Norman Parkinson (1987, Hamilton Galleries, ASIN: B0007BRZFA)
- Norman Parkinson: Portraits in Fashion (2004, Trafalgar Square Publishing, ISBN 1-57076-277-5)
