David Yarrow
The Old Man And The Sea
2022

About the Item

The Old Man And The Sea Anguilla and South Africa - 2022 Archival Pigment Print on 315gsm Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta Paper Each is signed, dated and numbered on the front. Edition Size: 12 Available sizes: 48 x 73 inches 67 x 104 inches All prints are on 315gsm Hahnemühle photo rag Baryta paper and varnished after processing to give both endurance and sheen. Each is signed, dated and numbered on the front. Price includes David Yarrow's custom black ash frame, white archival matting and protective UV acrylic. For unframed, $1,500 will be deducted from the price. David Yarrow has built an unrivaled reputation for capturing the beauty of the planet’s remote landscapes, cultures and endangered animals. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1966, he is now an internationally acclaimed fine art photographer and Europe’s best selling wildlife photographer. “He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach.” Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea - 1952 "The success of The Old Man and the Sea - Hemingway’s last novel - made him an international celebrity. The book, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953, tells the story of Santiago, an ageing, experienced fisherman who has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish. In the famous prose copied above, the lions symbolise Santiago's lost youth as well as his pride (a group of lions being a "pride"). In this way, the lions also symbolise Santiago's affinity with nature. Now that Santiago is no longer young, and has lost his friends, family, and strength, he sees the lions only in his dreams. I have long wanted to tell this story in my own way, with the lions I work with in Kevin Richardson’s sanctuary, of which I am proud to be an ambassador. My friendship with Kevin goes back a long way and the mutual trust allows us to explore creative ideas that would otherwise be over ambitious. When shooting a composite image like this, I prefer to shoot almost sequentially; the longer the gap and the moment can be lost. I saw an opportunity in January 2022 to shoot the beach scene in the Caribbean and then within the week complete the job in South Africa. We were in Anguilla working on our Pirates of the Caribbean project and Hemingway was never far from my mind, after all Cuba, where he wrote and located the book, was less than 1000 miles away. Early on in our Anguilla adventure, I met Tasha, an old Rastafarian fisherman boasting the longest hair I had ever seen in a man and I knew immediately that he was my Santiago. He was a filmmaker’s gold so long as you caught him before his first strong joint of the day, around 6.30 am, but luckily that was exactly the time I wanted to shoot in order to eliminate directional ambient light. My guidance to Tasha was to look like he was half awake and dreaming. There has never been an easier direct to an actor in film history as this is after all his default position. With little trouble, I left the Caribbean with my first piece of the jigsaw. Only five days later we were in South Africa and an enormous canvas from my shoot with ‘Santiago’ had already been erected in the veldt. In front of the canvas the production team had made a beach resembling the white beaches of Anguilla. I recognise that over the years, production has become easier as we work with the very best of the best wherever we go and it does make a difference. The final piece of the jigsaw was the hardest. Hemingway talked of lions - not a single lion - and I knew therefore that I needed two male lions in the frame if my interpretation of Santiago’s dream was to be pure. Kevin walks his lions out most days, so they were used to early morning exercise; the only change this time was that there was a third party in a cage and a beach 100 miles from Pretoria - a first for Transvaal! The end result gives me pleasure. It tells the story of The Old Man and the Sea as well as I could have hoped."

Creator:
David Yarrow (1966, Scottish)
Creation Year:
2022
Dimensions:
Height: 48 in (121.92 cm)Width: 73 in (185.42 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
Medium:
Archival Pigment
Movement & Style:
Contemporary
Period:
21st Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU38839554062
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David Yarrow

David Yarrow, born 1966 in Scotland, took up photography at an early age, as a 20-year-old he found himself working as a photographer for The London Times on the pitch at the World Cup Final in Mexico City. On that day, he took the sensationalized picture of Diego Maradona holding the World Cup and, as a result, was subsequently asked to cover the Olympics and numerous other high profile sporting events.

Many years later, Yarrow established himself as a fine art photographer by documenting the natural world from new perspectives and recent years have been career-defining for his mark on the world of contemporary fine art photography.

Yarrow’s evocative and immersive photography of life on earth is most distinctive and has earned him an ever-growing following among art collectors and celebrities. His distinct large monochrome images made in Los Angeles are on display in leading galleries and museums across Europe and North America. Yarrow is now recognized as one of the best-selling fine art photographers in the world and his limited edition works regularly sell at high prices at Sotheby’s and other auction houses.

In September 2019, Rizzoli published their second book by Yarrow, with a personal foreword written by global NFL star Tom Brady and thoughtful afterword written by American cultural icon and supermodel Cindy Crawford. All royalties from the book have been donated to conservation charities Tusk in the UK and WildAid in the US.

Yarrow's position in the industry has been rewarded with a wide range of advisory and ambassadorial roles. He is an ambassador for WildArk and The Kevin Richardson Foundation and is the European ambassador for Nikon. Yarrow has been integral to Nikon's most anticipated camera release of the last decade. In December 2017, he shot LVMH’s latest “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign with Cara Delevingne. In January 2019, he was appointed as a global ambassador for UBS. In the spring of 2020, Yarrow was appointed a global ambassador for Best Buddies – one of America’s most established children’s charities.

Yarrow became an ambassador for the African Community and Conservation Foundation and presented his work in the Endangered Rangers virtual fundraiser. At the start of 2020, Yarrow was in Australia documenting the devastating bush fires that have destroyed communities, wildlife and wildlands. Using the striking images that he captured of the effects of the fire, he launched the #KoalaComeback Campaign to support the recovery efforts in Australia. The campaign raised over $1.4 million, and as Yarrow continues to work for humanitarian causes, his steadfast determination continues to make positive change for the benefit of global awareness. Currently, Yarrow continues to create stunning imagery with lasting global impact and archival quality that speaks to his reverence for the art of photography in capturing the wonders of the world.

Find a collection of original David Yarrow photography on 1stDibs.