Timing, Vulnerability and Cultural Resonance
People take hundreds of pictures on their phones every week but almost all of them are forgotten five minutes later.
A question at the heart of art photography is: what makes a photograph iconic?
I find that an iconic photograph can do something remarkable: it can capture the mood of an era or become closely associated with a particular moment in cultural history.
When Terry O'Neill photographed Faye Dunaway at the Beverly Hills Hotel swimming pool on the morning of 29 March 1977 he did not create a red‑carpet portrait. I was amazed when I saw this photograph, which captured her having breakfast beside the pool surrounded by the days newspapers and her Oscar on the table the morning after she won Best Actress for *Network*. This iconic photograph showed her expression and the quiet early‑morning setting giving a new view of sudden fame.
The same is true of the photograph taken by Terry O'Neill in 1963 of The Rolling Stones outside the Tin Pan Alley Club on Denmark Street, London. I still remember how this iconic photograph captured the band in a street setting with their individual styles and informal appearance setting them apart from the more uniform image of many pop groups at the time. Today this iconic photograph is remembered as a portrait of the band during the early days of their rise, to fame.
An iconic photograph can stay with us because of its timing, emotional impact and ability to connect a moment with a much larger cultural story.
To view art prints documenting modern cultural history visit Iconic Images Gallery at 16 Waterloo Place, St Jamess (SW1Y 4AR) or explore iconicimagesgallery.com.