John Deakin
(1912-1972), PhotographerSitter in 10 portraits
Artist associated with 11 portraits
Wirral-born photographer Deakin is best-known for his uncompromisingly honest portraits of the bohemian Soho set of the 1950s, and particularly for the photographs taken for Francis Bacon, on which some of the artist's major works were based. Deakin wished to be a painter, although he earned a living as a staff photographer for Vogue during the 1940s and 1950s. His photographic career has been celebrated by the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition John Deakin: The Salvage of a Photographer (1984-85), the National Portrait Gallery John Deakin Photographs (1996), and The Photographers Gallery, London in Under the Influence: John Deakin and the Lure of Soho (2014).
by John Deakin, assisted by Patrick Matthews, or assisted by Tom Hawkyard
vintage bromide print, 14 November 1952
NPG P1975
by John Deakin
vintage bromide print, 1957
NPG P994
by John Deakin
glossy bromide contact sheet, 1950s
NPG x33936
by John Deakin, copied by Keystone Press Agency Ltd
bromide press print, 22 July 1963
NPG x199085
by John Deakin
halftone reproduction tear sheet, published 13 July 1949
NPG x193359
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