Despite having been born in Germany, Bill Brandt became synonymous as one of Britain's greatest photographers of the twentieth century. Having begun taking photographs in the late 1920s, going on to assist the artist Man Ray in Paris, Brandt later moved to London where he set about documenting every facet of British life between the first and second world war.
He went on to create a series of portraits of iconic creative figures, including Francis Bacon, Graham Greene and Pablo Picasso, before virtually reinventing the genre of nude photography, a theme which dominated much of Brandt's later work, the images themselves showing a distinct leaning towards the influence of having worked alongside surrealist Man Ray.
From the end of this month, the Chris Beetles Gallery in London will play host to an exhibition of over 50 images by the late photographer. Focussing on Brandt's earlier documentary work as well as his nude portraiture, the exhibition will be the largest of its kind to have been put on in the UK and will run from 24th June to 18th July.
Philip Goodfellow