NORMAN PARKINSON: MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST
“My aim was to take moving pictures with a still camera”
OUR NOTES:
Norman Parkinson is a photographer close to The Selects Gallery’s heart, as he is a photographer whose work lives in the archives, much of it still in the dark, waiting to be brought to light. A prolific photographer, Parkinson created over 500,000 images during his career, some of which are found only in the pages of the magazines where they were first published.
Norman Parkinson, born Ronald William Parkinson Smith in 1913, is one of the most celebrated fashion photographers of all time, a recognition earned by his work which created and constantly evolved the genre. The name ”Norman Parkinson” comes from a short-lived partnership between Ronald and another photographer, Norman Kibblewhite: the two combined their names when they opened a photography studio in Mayfair, and Ronald kept the name when the partnership was dissolved.
Starting out as a court photographer on Bond Street in London at the beginning of the 1930’s, Norman learned studio photography techniques and soon become a renowned presence in society circles. His striking photographs attracted the attention of magazines such as The Bystander, The Tatler, and The Sketch, and completely by chance, P. Joyce Reynolds, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar, a relationship which would define Parkinson’s career.
After five years at Harper’s Bazaar, Parkinson moved to Vogue in 1941. He was a versatile photographer for the publication, covering the war as well as fashion and portraits, a position he would hold until 1960. He also worked for the Royal Air Force during this time as a reconnaissance photographer. In 1960, Parkinson left Vogue to become a freelance photographer. He moved to Tobago in 1963, splitting his time between England and the Caribbean Island. He not only shot fashion images and portraits, but opened a pig farm in Tobago.
Norman Parkinson never retired from photography; in fact, he died in 1990 while on assignment for Town & Country, photographing American model Debra Harris in the Malaysian jungle. In a career spanning over half a century, Parkinson cemented himself as a foundational fashion photographer and cultural documentarian. His vast archive contains not only icons from each decade in which he was active, but a narrative of how fashion, culture, and photography evolved, in part due to his undeniable influence and raw creative force.
Publications:
The Beatles: London, 1963 (2018)
Would You Let Your Daughter (1985)
Fifty Years of Style and Fashion (1983)
RETROSPECTIVES AND SOLO SHOWS:
Always in Style, Fundación Barrié, Spain (2020)
Norman Parkinson – The Gentleman Photographer, Ferus Gallery, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France (2019)
Norman Parkinson, Vintage Sessions, Galerie XII, Paris (2018)
Norman Parkinson – Style Icons, Eduard Planting Gallery, Amsterdam (2018)
Lifework: Norman Parkinson’s Century of Style, National Theatre (2013)
Norman Parkinson: Portraits in Fashion, National Portrait Gallery, London (2005)
Norman Parkinson: A Retrospective Exhibition 1935-1990, Staley Wise Gallery, New York (2005)
EXHIBITIONS:
The Fashion Show, Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica, California (2023)
Accrochage, Galerie Stephen Hoffman, München (2022)
Count to Ten, Elliott Gallery, Amsterdam (2022)
The Power of Photography, Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica, California (2022)
Ready, Set, Go, Staley Wise Gallery, New York (2021)
The Classics, Coe and Co Gallery (2020)
Snow Day, Staley Wise Gallery, New York (2020)
Always Audrey, The Iconic Images Gallery, London (2020)
Always Audrey, Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica, California (2019)
Chelsea Girls & Likely Lads, Iconic Images Gallery, London (2019)
Audrey Hepburn: Beyond the Screen, Proud Galleries, London (2018)
Rock n Roll, The Little Black Gallery, London (2018)
The Year of the Dog, The Little Black Gallery, London (2018)
Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon, National Portrait Gallery, London (2015)
Real and Surreal, Staley Wise Gallery, New York (2014)
Good Humor, Staley Wise Gallery, New York (2010)
Suzy to Twiggy, The Fashion Revolution 1950-1970, Staley Wise Gallery, New York (2004)
New York, New York, Streetlife, Architecture, and Personalities, Staley Wise Gallery, New York (2002)
Men of Style, Photographs 1920-1982, Staley Wise Gallery, New York (1983)
AUCTIONS:
Norman Parkinson has been auctioned hundreds of times. Among them:
Sir Elton John sale, Christie’s (2024)
Fashion Photographs from the Susanne von Meiss collection, Christie’s (2022)
Tailor-Made: Fashion Photographs from the Collection of Peter Fetterman, Phillips New York (2020)
Icons of Glamour and Style: The Constantiner Collection, Christie’s Paris (2019)
Artist | Icon | Inspiration: Women in Photography Presented with Peter Fetterman, Phillips London (2019)
Photographs, Sotheby’s London (2019)
An American Journey: The Diann G. and Thomas A. Mann Collection of Photographic Masterworks, Christie's, New York (2018)
INTERIORS including Faringdon House, Oxfordshire, Christie's, New York (2018)
Made in Britain, Sotheby’s London (2018)
Audrey Hepburn: The Personal Collection, Christie’s London (2017)
Photographs Evening & Day, Phillips New York (2016)
Mrs Thatcher - Property from the Collection of The Right Honourable The Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, LG, OM, FRS, Christie’s London (2015)
British Modern & Contemporary Photography, Christie’s London (2015)
Under the Influence, Phillips London (2014)
The London Sale, Christie’s London (2012)
The Feminine Ideal: An Important Private Collection of Photographs, Christie’s New York (2011)
Icons of Glamour and Style: The Constantiner Collection, Christie’s New York (2008)
Photographs From The Collection Of Gert Elfering, Christie’s New York (2008)
Photographs, Christie’s New York, Paris, and London (2023, 2022, 2020, 2011, 2009, 2008)
Photographs, Phillips New York and London (2023, 2022, 2019, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009)
