The Third Man: A Retrospective of the work of Brian Duffy

The exhibition includes many "unseen" images, 45% of the exhibition has not been on public exhibition before.

Brian Duffy, together with David Bailey and Terence Donovan was one of the innovators of “documentary” fashion photography, a style which revolutionised fashion imagery and the fashion industry of the late 50’s and 60’s . These three photographers were so influential to the changes taking place in the 60’s that they were christened “The Terrible Three“ by Cecil Beaton and “The Black Trinity” by Norman Parkinson.

Duffy’s cutting edge photography documents the vibrancy of “the Swinging 60’s” London scene when the city was at the height of cool, and places him in the photographic history books as one of the UK’s most respected photographers. Much has been written about the impact that these three dynamos had on Vogue Magazine, photography, and London’s scene, most famously perhaps that of David Bailey.

However, being a little older and more analytical/intellectual in his approach, it was Duffy in fact who led the way. The three were as well known as the models, actors and musicians that they photographed. These three working-class photographers tore up an effete industry with little regard for the pretensions of the old guard. Duffy himself said at the time that “Before 1960 a fashion photographer was tall, thin and camp. But we three are different: short, fat and heterosexual.”

Duffy made work for magazines such as Vogue, French Elle, The Times, The Telegraph, Queen, Town, London Life, as well as advertising clients Pirelli, Biba, Smirnoff, Benson and Hedges, and had a long standing relationship with the top media titles, leading the way in both advertising and editorial imagery.

Duffy retired in the 1980’s after having set fire to his negatives, an act so final in its nature, that there seemed to be no going back. However, thanks to his son Chris, this collection exists (The exhibition includes 40 images from Duffy’s working life of the 50’s 60’s and 70’s) Chris has worked since August 2007 to collate his archive and restore Duffy’s rightful place at the centre of British photographic history.

Sadly, Brian Duffy died on 31st May 2010. Duffy’s friend David Puttman describes “Duffy was far more than a gifted photographer: he was a uniquely constructive “social anarchist”, who through sheer force of personality , helped push the stultifying conservatism of the 1950’s into permanent retreat. They may not know it but every participant in what today would be reffered to as the “creative industries” will be forever in his debt………he questioned the validity of everything from the position of someone courageous enough to challenge just about every received convention he ran up against”

Please call Lucy Bell on 01424 434828 or 07979 407629 for more information.

Photo: Reggie Kray and grandfather (1964). Photograph: Brian Duffy