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Marilyn Stafford: A Life in Photography

By 10th August 2022August 12th, 2022No Comments
Black and white photo. A weight lifter performs a lift while a small crows looks on.

Weightlifter, Sidon, Lebanon, 1960 © Marilyn Stafford

Black and white photo. A woman (Twiggy) looks towards the camera while a press photographer readies their camera.

Twiggy with press London 1960 © Marilyn Stafford

Black and white photo. A man, possible several people, are sleeping on a street. A dog stands over them.

Street sleepers, Boulogne-Billancourt, c1950. © Marilyn Stafford

Black and white photo. A woman poses outside a shop in a fashionable 1950s outfit. A man in the background of the image looks towards her.

Model in ready-to-wear and man in raincoat, Paris, c1950. © Marilyn Stafford

Black and white photograph. A woman in a long coat stands holding an umbrella in one hand and a pair of shoes in the other.

Model having fun at the end of the fashion shoot, Ready-to-wear, Louvre, Paris, c1950. © Marilyn Stafford

Black and white photo. A woman (Marilyn Stafford) pauses as she walks up stairs leading into a plane. A group of men in various uniforms stand around the plane, looking towards the camera.

Marilyn Stafford boarding Indian Air Force flight to Kashmir with Indira Gandhi. Photographer unknown

Black and white image taken from a plane. The camera is pointed down the stairs, showing a woman boarding. There is a small crowd gathered behind her.

Indira Gandhi boarding plane, New Delhi, 1972. © Marilyn Stafford

Black and white photo of a young girl carrying a milk bottle. There are other children walking in the background.

Girl with milk bottle, Cité Lesage-Bullourde, Paris, c1950 © Marilyn Stafford

Black and white portrait of Francesca Serio. Her face is slightly hidden by deep shadows.

Francesca Serio (C) Marilyn Stafford

Black and white portrait image. The sitter smokes and reclines in an armchair.

Final low res book PP © Marilyn Stafford

Édith Piaf sits in an armchair, looking towards the camera and smiling.

Édith Piaf, Paris, c1950. © Marilyn Stafford

Black and white landscape image showing a village backed by a mountain range.

Baalbeck village, Lebanon, 1960. © Marilyn Stafford

Black and white photo. A woman stands next to a table and two chairs. One of her hands is on her hip, the other is gesturing in front of her.

17 Paris P.A.P 1960 Restaurant Tour Eiffel

Black and white photo. A man holds an umbrella above a woman's head outside of a shop.

11 Paris P.A.P 1960 Christian Dior Boutique

Black and white photo. A woman in a long coat walks her dog on a lead. The dog is seated to the left of her.

10b Paris P.A.P 1960 Bridge Dog

Black and white photo. A child sits on a railing next to woman in a long coat, who stands smiling.

10a Paris P.A.P 1960 Montmartre Child on Railing

Black and white photo. Two children are seated on a curb while another child and a woman stand beside them.

9 Paris P.A.P Montmarte 1960 Kids on Curbstone

Black and white photo. Four women seated in a circle.

© Marilyn Stafford Joanna Lumley with models backstage during Jean Muir fashion show

Black and white photo. A young boy plays with sandbags outside a house.

© Marilyn Stafford Indira Gandhi's grandson Rahul Gandhi playing with sandbags which were used to fortify her home during the Indo-Pakistani War 1972

Black and white photo of Indira Gandhi's driver standing next to a car with an open hood.

© Marilyn Stafford Indira Gandhi's driver behind the scenes during her speaking tour of Kashmir following war with Pakistan 19722 low res-7

Colour photograph. Indira Gandhi stands at a microphone in front of a large crowd.

© Marilyn Stafford Indira Gandhi speaking at mass rally in Kashmir in 1972 following the Indo-Pakistani War

Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand sat at a bench beneath a treaa

© Marilyn Stafford Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand

Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand puts his arm around the shoulders of a victim of the Bangladesh Liberation War 1972

© Marilyn Stafford Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand comforting victim of Bangladesh Liberation War 1972

Black and white photograph of three men at a market stall in Lebanon, 1960. Two are seated, while a third stands and looks towards the camera. There are watering cans and fruit around them.

© Marilyn Stafford fruit seller and tin smith market Tripoli Lebanon 1960

Marilyn Stafford: A Life in Photography

Beneath the lens of Marilyn Stafford, one of the leading women in photography today, fascinating stories emerge in abundance. Illuminating the lives of ‘world leaders and poets; artists, writers, and mourning mothers; children playing on the street, victims of war, refugees, and fashion models’, Marilyn sought to ameliorate injustice, using her camera to foreground what was commonly overlooked.

A highly decorated photographer, Marilyn was the recent recipient of the Award for Exceptional Achievement in Photography from best-selling UK publication Amateur Photographer, and the Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards in London (March 2020).

More than seventy years after her first commission – as the set photographer for a documentary about Albert Einstein – in 1948, Marilyn’s distinctive reportage photography is continuing to gain traction. This summer marks the first retrospective of her archive; following its inception at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, A Life in Photography has toured to Dimbola, Isle of Wight (11th June) – the former home of legendary photographer and Victorian pioneer Julia Margaret Cameron.

Curated by Nina Emett in collaboration with Marilyn’s daughter Lina Clerke, A Life in Photography provides a reflective and engaging look at a period of 20th century history through Marilyn’s unique gaze. It will feature many previously untold anecdotes from her career, as well as images never before exhibited in public.

According to Nina, who also edited the complementary monograph Marilyn Stafford – A Life in Photography, Marilyn’s work ‘reveals a devilish eye for detail, a curiosity to ‘pop the hood’ and look behind the scenes, a huge respect for form and structure, a penchant for humorous juxtaposition, an emotional connection to whoever lies beyond the shutter curtain, and there is always an intriguing storyline.’

Describing her extraordinary career in her own words, Marilyn has commented: 

“I think of myself as a storyteller, speaking through the lens of my camera. I have always endeavoured to find a way to bring awareness to the public eye, to tell stories that are socially relevant and to create change for the better.”

Marilyn Stafford: A Life in Photography is on view at Dimbola Museum and Galleries, Isle of Wight, until 16th October.

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