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Photos of the week: David Farrell photography

Osborne Samuel gallery shows first display of the work of late photographer David Farrell featuring iconic names from stage, screen and music

David-Farrell,-Mick-Jagger-and-Brian-Jones,-c.1963.-©-David-Farrell,-courtesy-of-Osborne-Samuel — Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, c.1963. All images credit: David Farrell/courtesy of Osborne Samuel

Osborne Samuel gallery is to present a major exhibition on the work of celebrated British photographer David Farrell (1919-2013). With iconic images of the 20th century’s greatest musicians, actors, authors, dancers and artists, the Farrell exhibition will be the first look back at his work since his death last year. Famous sitters, from Louis Armstrong and Laurence Olivier, to Anthony Caro, Margot Fonteyn and the Rolling Stones, are showcased alongside documentary works depicting domestic life in Britain.

Farrell made numerous portraits of musicians and performers in informal situations, preferring to photograph them at home or in the studio rather than in public performances. Expanding his portfolio through TV commissions, Farrell went on to photograph most of the pop stars of the period, including early performances by the Beatles, Cilla Black and Tom Jones. In the 1960s and 1970s he turned to theatre and film with an invitation to photograph the production of Peter Hall’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968) starring Diana Rigg and Helen Mirren, and over subsequent years he worked on more than 100 films and TV dramas alongside directors including Michael Winner and Ken Loach.

Upon his death aged 93, Farrell left an extensive archive of images which together form a fascinating ‘hall of fame’ of the 20th century’s best-known stars of stage and screen. Scroll through our gallery below to see some of his iconic works: