These pictures of children from the 1950s and ‘60s, are a mere fraction of John Chillingworth’s work, but remain as fresh today as they were when picture magazines were at their zenith. In the 1950s John was a member of the ‘star’ team of photographic journalists whose images told stories for the seminal British picture magazine, Picture Post. During the celebration of 150 years of photography, at the National Museum of Photography,Film and TV (now the National Media Museum), he was described as a ‘maker of photographic history’.
His earlier images, held by the London-based Getty Images-Hulton Archive, are still reproduced in publications around the world. All are available to dedicated collectors of classic photography, both in the UK and abroad. “Like so many great British photographers,” says Matthew Butson, vice-president of London-based Getty Images/Hulton Archive, “the work of John Chillingworth deserves wider recognition today.”
Far from being a mere ‘journeyman’, John followed the path trodden by the great miniature camera pioneers and as he did so, helped bring a fresh dimension to the craft of ‘story-telling’ photography. It has been said that his way of seeing pictures influenced the visual development of subsequent generations of photographers. ‘Memory Lane’ it may be for some and surprising to others, but each one of this selection of his images from around the world still has its own story to tell.
The Innocence of Childhood Photographs by John Chillingworth Hon FRPS - 3rd October - 28th October 2011
Free Entry: Monday–Friday. 9.30–16.30
The Royal Photographic Society, Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath BA2 3AH For further information please contact Lesley Goode. 01225 325720 lesley@rps.org.
Image: John Chillingworth, Whitechapel girl, London, 1953, Getty Images-Hulton Archive.
John's own website is at: www.johnchillingworth.co.uk
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