Terence Donovan was a busy man. Not only was he a world-renowned photographer, award-winning director, ground-breaking music video maker – remember Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love video? That was Donovan – he also, just to mix it up a bit, held a black belt in Judo.
In 1959, at the age of 22, Donovan opened his first studio in London. He was an immediate success. With a gritty and noirish quality to his pictures, Donovan quickly became part of the first wave of celebrity photographers to document the rich culture of the Sixties and Seventies.
After turning his hand to television work in the Eighties, Donovan returned to photographing the rich and famous for magazines all over the world. His "National Anthems" portfolio – a selection of British musicians including Bryan Ferry and Jarvis Cocker – for the "Cool Brittania" issue of GQ magazine in 1996 remains some his finest work to date.
Unfortunately, this campaign would be his last. When Terence Donovan died in November 1996, he left behind an impressive canon of work from a near 40-year career. And now thanks to a new exhibition – Terence Donovan: Speed of Light – due to open this month at The Photographers' Gallery in London you get to take a look.
Cindy Crawford
Sean Connery
Roald Dahl
Julie Christie
Richard Attenborough
Terence Stamp
Twiggy
Bryan Ferry
Naomi Campbell
Jarvis Cocker
Jimi Hendrix
Ronnie Wood
Terence Donovan: Speed of Light in association with Ricoh is on display at The Photographers’ Gallery from 15 July. Terence Donovan Portraits is published by Damiani at £35.00
