French actress Brigitte Bardot is pictured travelling on the tube. 1955 (Photo by Popperfoto/ Getty Images
This exhibition is a journey back in time in the company of international film stars and celebrities across the streets and landmarks of the renown British capital of fame, London. American, French, Italian, German and Swiss actors such as Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren, Diana Dors, and Ursula Andress, to name but a few, are sharing some of their personal and «work related» moments on the walls of the Getty Image Gallery this month and until the 9th of October 2010.
Black and white photographs, taken between 1929 and 1979, some of which have never been seen before, are on display for the pleasure of the fans and photography aficionados. As soon as you step through the doors of the gallery, you are taken back in time with the black and white setting, and modern minimalistic aspect of the space dedicated to the exhibition. The photographs, which are arranged in chronological order, each tell a different story. From John Wayne on Picadilly, Diana Dors at the Billingsgate Market, Harrison Ford in Hannover Street, Alfred Hitchcok at the British Museum, Brigitte Bardot in the underground, Elisabeth Taylor in Trafalgar Square, to Gregory Peck and Sean Connery filming in the streets of London, we get a glimpse of the old city, and of the actors lives as well.
British born American actress Elizabeth Taylor feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar Square, London. 1948 (Photo by Chris Ware/Getty Images)
The images are a tribute to photographers such as Ron Burton, Harry Kerr, Edward Miller, George Konig, William Breeze, Chris Ware and so many more. The style, the angles, the light of each scene, are reflections on the choices of those still-shot artists to capture particular moments in time while limited by a monochromatic schema of color and contrast. These images are part of history and as such, illustrate it with charm and classical beauty.
The collection of photographs was the result of a selection made by the research experts of the Getty Images Gallery at the famous Getty Images’ Hulton Archive. It is a very rich display of stolen moments from those iconic stars we are so fond of and that manage to sweep us of our feet with every single movie in which they featured.
As a representation of celebrities down memory lane in London, this is one exhibition not to miss.