Gucci
ONE OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY’S
BEST-KNOWN FASHION PHOTOGRAPHERS
NORMAN PARKINSON
A MAN WHO WAS ACTIVE
FOR OVER 50 YEARS AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN TAKING
PORTRAIT AND FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY BEYOND THE STIFF
FORMALITY OF HIS PREDECESSORS AND INJECTING AN EASY
AND CASUAL ELEGANCE INTO HIS IMAGES
Parkinson reinvented himself for each decade of his career, from his ground- breaking, spontaneous images of
the 1930s, through the war years and the Swinging Sixties to the exotic locations of the 1970s and 1980s.
Norman Parkinson’s impulsive and unstructured style changed forever the static, posed approach to fashion
photography, while his enchanting, idiosyncratic persona charmed his sitters and projected an alluring and
glamorous public image. Standing at 6 feet 5 inches tall, Parkinson was unable to remain unobtrusive behind
the lens and instead created ‘Parks’, the moustachioed, ostentatiously elegant fashion photographer – as much
a personality as those who sat for him, and frequently more flamboyant. His flawless professionalism, manners
and well-rehearsed eccentricities reassured the uneasy sitter and disarmed the experienced. His photographs of
celebrities, artists, and the British Royal Family, as well as leading figures from the worlds of film, theatre,
politics and music are known throughout the world and have become icons of twentieth century style.