Someone sent me an email showing pictures of Queen Elizabeth with 11 US presidents. Here she is in 1951, a year before ascending the throne. Karsh photographed all those presidents except Bush and Obama (the archive has photos of Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, James Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton).
Queen Elizabeth II, 1951 © Yousuf Karsh
I have a treasured role representing the Karsh estate for licensing. Every day I get to look at his incredible archive and grant rights to publish his work. Today I'm looking at Dr. Helen Taussig, who basically founded pediatric cardiology and, alongside Dr Alfred Blalock at Johns Hopkins Hospital, came up with a cure for 'blue baby syndrome'. One of the colleges at Johns Hopkins in the School of Medicine has been named in her honor and the students would like to hang a copy in their college room so we gave permission and sent a TIFF file. I too love this warm portrait of Dr Taussig. Our portrait of Dr Blalock features the good man smoking a cigarette. Those were the days!
Dr. Helen Taussig, 1975 © Yousuf Karsh
New York's
International Centre of Photography celebrates its third Triennial of Photography and Video with an opening soirée for members on October 1st. The Triennial will mark the closing cycle of ICP's 2009 Year of Fashion. "These artists variously explore fashion--whether in everyday dress,
haute couture, street fashion, or uniforms--as a celebration of
individuality, personal identity, and self-expression, and as cultural,
religious, social, and political statements." One of my personal faves,
Hank Willis Thomas, will be among the great on show.
Following the Gibson exhibition at
Blender Gallery is Janette Beckman's "Stylin' and Profilin'" launching October 8th 2009. Janette is making the long haul from New York City to downtown Sydney and anyone who can should get down there. The show features around 50 of Janette's iconic shots of street culture, hip hop, punk and, well, lots more. Visit
Janette's music site for a real treat.
Paul Weller and Pete Townshend, 1980 © Janette Beckman
The
Lost Boys Foundation of Nashville, benefiting the Lost Boys of Sudan, presents a very rare event featuring historic works by internationally renowned music photographers Baron Wolman, Henry Diltz, Danny Clinch, and Jim McGuire. Each of the four photographers are donating 10 to 12 of their works to benefit the Lost Boys Foundation.
New to the Nikon USA website is their thoroughly enjoyable interview with Baron Wolman. Baron met Jann Wenner in 1967 and became Rolling Stone's first contributing photographer. There's a gallery of 17 images, including classic Jimi Hendrix and Jerry Garcia, as well as a couple of his stunning aerial photos.
This shot of Joplin would appear to be a live gig, and was actually taken in Baron's studio during what he came to refer to as his 'concert for one'. "And that's the way it was in the late '60s in San Francisco. You needed photos of Janis Joplin, you called her up and she came over."
Read more!
In more
Dave Brolan-related news, his exhibition of Gibson Guitar-playing superstars, already shown in Los Angeles, Shanghai, Berlin and London, has traveled all the way to Sydney, Australia (now through October 7th '09 at
Blender Gallery) with its next stop being Tokyo.
Gibson Through The Lens features some of the world's most respected and prolific rock photographers such as Michael Putland, Jim Marshall, Neal Preston, Mick Rock, Bob Gruen, Baron Wolman and Robert Knight, to name a few.
Prince © Michael Putland
You now have extra time to go and see Barry Feinstein's display at the
National Portrait Gallery in London, running through November 29th, 2009. Feinstein spent 24 hours a day with Dylan on his 1966 tour and you can see a fine edit of those results and pick up a copy of Feinstein's new book 'Real Moments'. Brilliant curation nod goes to
Dave Brolan.
Bob Dylan, 1966 © Barry Feinstein
Charles Britt, photographer and master scanner to the Karsh Estate, has recently digitized more Fidel Castro prints. Here's the story of Karsh's shoot with the Cuban leader.
"I arrived in Havana on the twenty-sixth of July, Cuba's national holiday, in time to hear this charismatic speaker address thousands of people in a rousing endorsement of the benefits of the Revolution. It was, for Castro, a short speech-two-and-a-half hours instead of his customary six. For the next three days, my companion and tour guide was Celia Sanchez, Cuba's wiry, energetic Secretary of State. From the three sites Ms. Sanchez offered for photography, I chose a simple ceremonial room, its stark walls and bookshelves suggesting a barracks, which turned out to be Castro's favorite office.
Not until an anxiety-filled hour before my scheduled departure did the Foreign Office confirm that Castro was ready. Dressed in army fatigues, looking grave and tired, Castro shook my hand warmly. Apologizing for the delay, he removed his belt and pistol and placed them beside him with a weary gesture. Our photographic session lasted three-and-a-half hours, punctuated by refreshments of Cuban rum and Coke and shared memories of the famous author and beloved former Cuban resident, Ernest Hemingway."
Fidel Castro, 1971 © Yousuf Karsh
Any excuse to publish this portrait: 'Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction' is on at the
Whitney Museum here in NYC from September 17, 2009 to January 17, 2010.
Georgia O'Keeffe, 1956 © Yousuf Karsh
