Bailey: Vision and Sound: 45 Park Lane

23 September 2022 - 28 Februar 2023

Vision and Sound is a celebration of David Bailey's portraits of legendary musicians over the past six decades. With photographs that trace movements of jazz, the rumbling ascension of rock and roll, punk, Britpop, hip-hop, and more, the exhibition explores Bailey's influential role in cultivating the image of music mediated through his lens.

Artworks
David Bailey
Duke Ellington, 1964
Archival Inkjet on paper
Image: 50.8 x 62.44 cm
Sheet: 58.4 x 70.06 cm
Edition of 15
£ 18,000.00 inc. VAT
Music has always been a passion for Bailey. As a teenager, he played the trumpet, thinking for a while that music - rather than photography - might be his future. Among his musical heroes is Duke Ellington, who he considers to be one of the geniuses of the twentieth century. The exhibition includes Bailey's shot of Ellington in rehearsal, casting a sharp eye across the room - a moment of solitude, not the typical image of a showman on stage. Other notable portraits of his Jazz heroes include Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.

Alongside photography, Bailey has always had a passion for music. His taste is an eclectic mix from the melodies of Cole Porter to jazz, blues and rock and roll. A close friend since the 60s, Bailey has photographed Mick Jagger through the years as he evolved into an icon of British rock and roll. From the small venues of their early days to their stadium tours, Bailey has photographed The Rolling Stones in action and has been responsible for some of their most memorable album covers.

David Bailey's bold and striking style has made him one of the most renowned photographers of our time. With an artistic practice of over six decades, his photographic work spans genres - from fashion to portraiture, nudes, to still lifes, documentary, landscape, and reportage - and expands into painting and sculpture. Bailey's photography discarded the formal structures of the medium and introduced fresh energy and a new way of looking that came to define a new generation.

Self-taught, Bailey's photographic style is epitomised by his sense of minimalism, stark contrast, and striking movement. His fashion photography revolutionised the culture by capturing his models amidst the experiences of the metropolitan and free use of 35mm film. His iconic portraits are known for their high definition and contrast; often setting his subjects against white, he removes the nuances and traditions of background and often closely cropped, portraying his sitters with incisive clarity.
- David Bailey
  Mick Jagger , 1964
  Silver Gelatin on paper, framed
  Signed by the artist, on verso
  Image: 33 x 33 cm
  Sheet: 40.64 x 48.26 cm
  Edition of 60
  
  £ 20,400.00 inc. VAT
  
  View more details
- David Bailey
  Mick in Fur Hood, 1964
  Platinum palladium print
  Signed by the artist, on verso
  Image: 49.5 x 49.5 cm
  Sheet: 59.7 x 68.6 cm
  
  £ 84,000.00 inc. VAT
  
  View more details
Among several photographs of the Rolling Stones in the exhibition is an early portrait of a young Mick Jagger that reflects Bailey's longstanding friendship with the singer. Tracing a time before the Stones had ever made a record, Jagger accompanied Bailey on a jaunt to Paris. A picture of the fresh-faced Jagger, at the time an unknown, was selected by Diana Vreeland for American Vogue, having been rejected by British Vogue. 'I don't care who he is,' she said, 'it's a fantastic picture. I want to publish it.' Another scene recounts The Rolling Stones, resplendent in technicolour velvets and silks, stalking the grounds of Avebury in 1968.
Artworks
ROLLING STONES
Rolling Stones Out of Our Heads [Colour], 1964
Archival Inkjet on paper
Image: 50.8 x 50.8 cm
Sheet: 58.4 x 58.4 cm
Edition of 20 + 2 AP
£ 30,000.00 inc. VAT
The exhibition features a unique screenprint painting on canvas depicting John Lennon and Paul McCartney, relating to the photographic portrait in his groundbreaking Box of Pin-Ups series; Bailey recognised the unique bond of the song-writing duo's relationship.
Artworks
David Bailey
Patti Smith, 1978

I try to simplify things by just having a white background and no distractions. I don't care about 'composition' or anything like that. I just want the emotion of the person in the picture to come across.. to get something from that person. - David Bailey.
Bailey's expansive practice stems from being at once an outsider and insider, as interested in documenting moments behind the music as the people before him. In one picture, the band Queen appears jubilant, having just left the stage following their triumphant LiveAid performance. We also see out-takes from photographic sessions he conducted for various record covers, including the sleeve for The Rolling Stones Jumping Jack Flash (1968), the cover of Goats Head Soup (1973), and the iconic shot from Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies (1973). 'We actually had a million dollars in cash in the studio for the shoot', Bailey recalls. 'Afterwards the bank counted the whole lot, and there was ten dollars missing. It was found burning on a light.'
My style is nothing. It sounds really pretentious - my way of making everythign minimal. Just concentrating on the person and getting rid of everything else. It's just the person I want - that's the only thing I want - I don't want anything else. - David Bailey
Artworks
David Bailey
OASIS, 2006
Another double-portrait, this time depicting Noel and Liam Gallagher, grasps the period of 'Cool Britannia'. 'I worked quickly as I wanted them out of the studio – I thought they might kill each other,' Bailey recalls of the Oasis siblings rivalrous time in front of his lens.
Artworks
David Bailey
Damon Albarn, 2007
Archival Inkjet on paper, framed
Signed by the artist, on verso
Image: 64.6 x 95.2 cm
Sheet: 61 x 91.5 cm
£ 24,000.00 inc. VAT
It's not the camera that takes the picture; it's the person.

- David Bailey

The exhibition is a testament to the artist's vision. His portraits draw on the qualities of one's essence that brings forth a refreshing clarity of their being. Having formed friendships with many musicians over the past six decades, Bailey has photographed them with all their vitality and all his stunning clarity, which in turn, has informed the visual culture of music; his images become embedded into their history.
- David Bailey
  Dizzy Gillespie, 1981
  Archival Inkjet on paper, framed
  Signed by the artist, on verso
  Image: 36.83 x 46.78 cm
  Sheet: 42 x 59.4 cm
  Edition of 15
  
  £ 18,000.00 inc. VAT
  
  View more details
- David Bailey
  Miles Davis, 1969
  Archival Inkjet on paper, framed
  Signed by the artist, on verso
  Image: 36.83 x 36.83 cm
  Sheet: 42 x 59.4 cm
  
  £ 18,000.00 inc. VAT
  
  View more details
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY PRICE LIST

BAILEY: VISION AND SOUND

45 PARK LANE, LONDON, W1K 1PN

The exhibition is open to the public every day throughout its duration. it is curated by David Bailey and Dellasposa Gallery, in assocation with 45 Park Lane and Ackerman Studios, To arrange a guided tour of the exhibition and for all other enquries, write to us at info@dellasposa.com or call +44203 286 4633

ENQUIRE

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.