The life of pioneering photographer Barbara Ker-Seymer 'I just
called myself Ker-Seymer Photographs,' Barbara said. 'I didn't
think it was necessary to have your sex displayed on the
photographs.' Vivacious, sassy, out to have fun, Ker-Seymer was
committed to independence. One of a handful of outstanding British
photographers of her generation, Ker-Seymer's work defined a
talented, forward-looking network of artists, dancers, writers,
actors and musicians, all of whom flocked to her Bond Street
studio. Among her sitters were Evelyn Waugh, Margot Fonteyn, Cyril
Connolly, Jean Cocteau and Vita Sackville-West. Barbara Ker-Seymer
(1905-1993) disdained lucrative 'society' portraits in favour of
unfussy 'modern' images. Her work was widely admired by her peers,
among them, Man Ray and Jean Cocteau. Her images as a gossip-column
photojournalist for Harper's Bazaar were the go-to representations
of the aristocracy and Bright Young Things at play. Yet as both a
studio portraitist and a photojournalist, she broke with
convention. Equally unconventional in her personal life, Ker-Seymer
was prefigurative in the way she lived her life as a bisexual woman
and in her contempt for racism, misogyny and homophobia. Fiercely
independent, for much of her life she rejected the idea of family,
preferring her wide set of creative friends, with the artist Edward
Burra, ballet dancer William 'Billy' Chappell and choreographer
Frederick Ashton at its core. Today, Ker-Seymer's photographs are
known for whom they represent, rather than the face behind the
camera, an irony underpinned by the misattribution of some of her
most daring images to Cecil Beaton. Yet her intelligence, sparkle,
wit and genius enabled her to link arms with the surrealists, the
Bloomsbury Group, the Bright Young Things and, most gloriously, the
worlds of theatre, cabaret and jazz. With unprecedented access to
private archives and hitherto unseen material, Sarah Knights brings
Barbara Ker-Seymer and her brilliant bohemian friends vividly to
life. Praise for Sarah Knights' Bloomsbury's Outsider: A Life of
David Garnett: 'Perceptive... sympathetic, thorough and witty'
Francesca Wade, Telegraph 'Delightful read... exceedingly
well-researched' DJ Taylor, Guardian 'Magisterial biography' Roger
Lewis, The Times 'Wonderful' Claire Harman, Evening Standard 'Books
of the Year'
General
| Imprint: |
Virago Press Ltd
|
| Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
| Release date: |
June 2023 |
| Authors: |
Sarah Knights
|
| Dimensions: |
240 x 156 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Hardcover
|
| Pages: |
336 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-349-01151-6 |
| Categories: |
Books
Promotions
|
| LSN: |
0-349-01151-6 |
| Barcode: |
9780349011516 |
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(5)
(1)
