At 15, the London-born David Bailey was jazz mad and Picasso loving but, being a dyslexic cockney, was booted out of school. Escape from gritty East London seemed unlikely until he picked up a Rolleiflex during his stint in the National Service. Three years later, in 1960, he was under contract at British Vogue.
Prodigiously talented, Bailey was also wildly charismatic and uncommonly pretty, a high-octane amalgam that no doubt fueled his meteoric rise. Soon, he was chronicling, and surfing, the cultural tsunami that transformed London in the Swinging Sixties, when young creatives from music, fashion, advertising, theater, film, TV and journalism toppled the British establishment to become the new royalty.
This was the moment when the seeds of celebrity culture were sown. Bailey snapped all these revolutionary aristos: John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Michael Caine, Tom Stoppard and David Hockney. Each and every one looks impossibly dewy and fresh and brims with an entirely modern derring-do.
So, too, do “the beautiful birds,” as Bailey called the alluring models and actresses who defined that decade: the exquisite Jean “Shrimp” Shrimpton, Twiggy, Penelope Tree, Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve. A number of them became his lovers, Deneuve his wife (he’s had four), for a time.
It was a wild ride for an East End lad and literally the stuff of movies. Bailey was the inspiration for the prowling fashion photographer Thomas, played by pretty boy David Hemmings, in one of the iconic films of that era, Antonioni’s Blowup.
But despite his playboy persona and lucrative work in fashion advertising, Bailey has always possessed real psychological depth and artistic ambition. He can snap like few others. His closest peer in spontaneity, insight and cool was Richard Avedon. Both preferred a white backdrop, strong lighting and a tight focus to capture that rare telling moment.
Someone shot with eyes shut is not an accident with Bailey but a revelation. To this day, he can’t explain how he works his magic, although he does liken it to shamanic conjuring. He makes no secret that he spends most of his time gabbing with his subject — he’s curious about everyone. Sometimes, the chatter is a seduction; occasionally, it becomes good-naturedly pugilistic. And then, in mere moments, the individual is sized and seized by his camera.
Browse David Bailey's revolutionary portraiture and fashion photography on 1stDibs.
Marie Helvin: 4 Vintage Photographic Prints, Black and White, 1981
By David Bailey
Located in Roma, IT
Marie Helvin By David Bailey is a set of four vintage photographic print on Agfa single coated paper. Photographs published on Playboy 2-1981 and realized by British master David Ba...
Photographic Paper
Marie Helvin
By David Bailey
Located in London, GB
David Bailey Marie Helvin, 1976-2021 Archival Inkjet Signed by the artist, on verso Accompanied by a COA 132 x 91.4 cm - Sheet size 135.5 x 94 x 4 cm - Framed Edition of 5 Marie Hel...
Paper, Archival Ink
Nude Photograph by David Bailey, Black and White, 1980s, Unframed
By David Bailey
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage b/w photograph realized by David Bailey in 1980s. Copyright and provenance: Playboy. Excellent condition.
Photographic Paper
$3,000
H 32 in W 24 in D 0.1 in
"Untitled 1" (En Rouge) Nude Photography 32" x 24" in Ed. 3/7 by Larsen Sotelo
By Larsen Sotelo
Located in Culver City, CA
"Untitled 1" (En Rouge) Nude Photography 32" x 24" in Ed. 3/7 by Larsen Sotelo Giclee (Archival Ink) print on 310G Platine Fibre Cotton Rag w/satin finish 32” X 24” inch Limited Edi...
Rag Paper, Giclée, Archival Ink
$5,500
H 20 in W 16 in
Male Nudes, Thompson and Brown, Signed Gelatin Silver Print, Circa 1980, 20x16
By George Dureau
Located in New york, NY
A black and white photograph, Thompson and Brown, c. 1980 by George Dureau is a 20" x 16" gelatin silver print, signed and titled recto (front of photo) below the image. Often comp...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$11,000
H 58 in W 53.5 in D 1.5 in
"Kate Moss Nr. 1" Photography 58 × 53 1/2 in Edition 1/1 by Kate Garner
By Kate Garner
Located in Culver City, CA
"Kate Moss Nr. 1" Photography 58 × 53 1/2 in Edition 1/1 by Kate Garner Signed on the back. Come with COA issued by the artist High Quality Print on Hahnemuhle paper using archival...
Glitter, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Stretcher Bars
$1,750
H 36 in W 24 in D 0.1 in
"Presentation of Sensuality" Nude Photography 36x24 in Ed. 1/15 by Larsen Sotelo
By Larsen Sotelo
Located in Culver City, CA
"Presentation of Sensuality" Nude Photography 36x24 in Ed. 1/15 by Larsen Sotelo Not framed. Ships in a tube Signed and numbered by the artist. Comes with COA issued by the artist....
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
$4,123
H 40.95 in W 29.53 in D 0.08 in
Estelle - Sexy nude woman smoking in a bar, Contemporary with a Vintage style
By Ian Sanderson
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
This is an original signed figurative archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 gsm paper by Scottish artist Ian Sanderson (1951- 2020) titled ‘Estelle‘ who was capt...
Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black and White, ...
$3,499
H 14 in W 11 in
Kate Bending, Signed Vintage Gelatin Silver Print, Couple, 2002
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Leonard Freed's stamped vintage (verso), 14" x 11," gelatin silver signed print, Kate Bending, is from the Kate series, 2002. A photographer herself, model Kate remains complicit i...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$2,222
H 8 in W 10 in
Kate #5, Female Nude, Signed Black and White Photograph, 8x10, Vintage 2002
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Kate #5, 2002 by American photographer Leonard Freed is an 8” x 10” signed black and white photograph stamped "vintage" by the Freed estate on verso (back of photo). Model, photogr...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$2,222
H 8 in W 10 in
Kate #4, Female Nude, Signed Black and White Photograph, 8x10, Sculptural Pose
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Kate #4, 2002 by American photographer Leonard Freed is an 8" x 10" signed black and white photograph, stamped vintage on verso (back of print). Model and yogini Kate is complicit for a very self-possessed playful shoot. Covering her face with her hair piled high in the form of a wave, Kate is transformed sculpturally. The self-assigned nude photo series...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$3,950
H 30 in W 27.5 in D 0.1 in
"Twin Kate Moss on Pink" Photography 30 x 27.5 in Edition of 25 by Kate Garner
By Kate Garner
Located in Culver City, CA
"Twin Kate Moss on Pink" Photography 30 x 27.5 in Edition of 25 by Kate Garner Hahnemuhle fine art archival paper Signed & numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by the ar...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper
$2,222
H 10 in W 8 in
Kate #3, Portrait, Black and White Photograph, Signed, 10x8, Vintage, 2002
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Kate #3, 2002 by Leonard Freed is a 10” x 8” hand printed, signed by the photographer black and white photograph, stamped "vintage" by the Freed estate on verso (back of photograph)....
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$800
H 19.69 in W 19.69 in D 0.04 in
On the Rhodes again - Contemporary, Nude, Women, Polaroid, 21st Century, Color
By Kirsten Thys van den Audenaerde
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
'On the Rhodes again' part of the series 'Hands down' - 2019 50x50cm, Edition of 7 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print based on the Polaroid, not mounted. Signed on the back...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$3,499
H 16 in W 20 in
Kate #14, Gelatin Silver Print, Black and White Nude, 2002, California, 16x20
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Leonard Freed’s stamped vintage photograph, 16" x 20", gelatin silver print, Kate #14, is from the Kate series, 2002. A photographer herself, model and yogini Kate remains complicit in striking dramatic poses for the Kate nude series by Freed. In this image Kate's arms are outstretched, body arched on the backside of a person in a downward dog yoga pose. On the edge of a cliff with the ebb and flow of the sea and waves many feet below, the duo remain in balance above swirling waters. Kate's trust in the universe is revealed in her youthful fearlessness and love of freedom. Freed captures a self-possessed modern woman and partner in a dance of sorts that Kate shares on the edge of time...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin