Terry O'Neill

Stars

Rock legends, Hollywood stars and sports heroes. Mention a global celebrity from the second half of the 20th century and that person probably posed for Terry O’Neill’s camera. This Summer, Fotografiska New York is opening its doors to Stars– featuring iconic portraits of Brigitte Bardot, Mick Jagger, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, The Beatles, Kate Moss and many more.

A black-and-white photograph of The Beatles holding their instruments against a brick wall — The Beatles in the backyard of Abbey Road Studios © Terry O'Neill - Iconic Images

A portrait of Mick Jagger in a brown spotted fur coat wearing a gold pinky ring — Mick Jagger ©Terry O'Neill - Iconic Images

A black-and-white photograph of Brigitte Bardot with windblown hair, wearing dark clothing and holding a cigarette in her mouth — Brigitte Bardot with cigarette ©Terry O'Neill - Iconic Images

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

No one was able to get as close to the stars as Terry O’Neill. The British photographer is one of the world’s most famous, and from the 1960s until his death in 2019, he took portraits of countless Hollywood stars, music legends, fashion icons and athletes. Stars is a retrospective of the acclaimed photographer’s unique work with over a hundred iconic photographs.

The exhibition includes legendary photographs of Faye Dunaway, Audrey Hepburn and Frank Sinatra, world-famous portraits of Brigitte Bardot and Mick Jagger seen in color for the first time, and never before shown photographs of stars such as Elvis Presley and Bianca Jagger.

Stars compiles both iconic imagery and unpublished works from Terry O’Neill’s complete archive to create an exclusive collection of photographs.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Terry O’Neill’s career as a photographer began at the English newspaper, Daily Sketch. After a couple of years, he started working as a freelance photographer for magazines like Vogue, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine and Vanity Fair. He was one of the world’s most published photographers in the 1960s up until the early 2000s. O’Neill’s photographs often took a personal approach, offering something completely different from the artificial portraits that were so common at the time, and even the most inaccessible stars wanted to pose for him.

In 1963, Terry O’Neill photographed both The Rolling Stones and The Beatles before they had had their big breaks, and for several years he accompanied famous musicians backstage on tours, such as artists like Elton John and David Bowie.

O’Neill had his breakthrough as a photographer around the same time as pop culture was exploding in the 1960s and developed a close relationship with many stars before they became famous. This enabled him to capture not just gorgeous portraits but also closer, more candid photos.