Bill Brandt

© Roger George Clark / National Portrait Gallery, London

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Bill Brandt

by Roger George Clark
bromide print, 24 August 1978
10 5/8 in. x 8 7/8 in. (269 mm x 225 mm)
Purchased, 1982
Photographs Collection
NPG x15100

Sitterback to top

  • Bill Brandt (1904-1983), Photographer. Sitter in 34 portraits, Artist or producer of 120 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Roger George Clark (1943-), Broadcaster; photographer and journalist. Artist or producer of 42 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

Placesback to top

Events of 1978back to top

Current affairs

The country is brought to a virtual standstill as workers in the private and public sector strike over the government's decision to restrict wage increases. As more workers joined the strikes rubbish piled up in the streets, petrol stations ran short, and storage space had to be hired for unburied coffins. The period became known as the 'winter of discontent'.

Art and science

Louise Brown from Oldham in Greater Manchester becomes the world's first 'test-tube baby'. The 'in vitro' fertilisation procedure was a scientific breakthrough that has given thousands of infertile couples the opportunity to conceive.
Iris Murdoch wins the Booker prize with her novel. The Sea, the Sea.

International

Karol Józef Wojtyla becomes Pope John Paul II. He was the only Polish Pope and the first non-Italian Pontiff since the 16th century. During his 26-year pontificate, John Paul was recognised for his efforts to reach out to other religions and his fight against poverty and oppression. He has also, however, been criticised for his conservative attitudes towards divorce, contraception, homosexual marriage and the ordination of women priests.

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Roger George Clark

17 April 2019, 05:19

Note from Roger George Clark who took the photo:-

Bill Brandt gave me a warm welcome when I went to photograph him in his London flat near Holland Park on 24 August 1978. And I needed all the help that was going. It was one of those embarrassing occasions with a perfect setting and a cooperative subject, but nothing seemed to go right. Only his patience rescued the sitting. Entering Brandt's sitting-room was like walking into one of his pictures. It was large, dark and crowded with mysterious objects. Flowers nestled under bell jars, coloured birds spread their wings on a black screen. I was so captivated by the atmosphere that I was tempted to try a Brandt-style portrait myself.

But as I unpacked my equipment I noticed my light meter had broken. The one on my camera was inaccurate in low light so I asked if I could borrow his. He produced an earlier version of my meter but - horror of horrors - I was unable to distinguish between apertures and shutter speeds and produce an accurate reading. So I went back to my Rolleiflex, took a reading, opened up a couple of extra stops and hoped for the best. I used available light from the window and for the next hour we experimented with various angles and poses.

'Why not take a picture of me holding this?' asked Brandt at one point, going over to a chest of drawers and extracting a mahogany box. It was the 1900 Kodak wide-angle camera with which he had photographed many of his models in his book 'Perspective of Nudes'. That did the trick and I produced a great shot of him clutching the camera while he sat on a divan against a plain wall. The picture ended up here in the National Portrait Gallery and, along with three others, was published in 'The British Journal of Photography'.

So perseverance proved successful. 'I could see you were having difficulties in the beginning,' said Brandt with a smile at the end of the session.