THE V&A South Kensington presents a major exhibition of modern and contemporary photography, a loan from the private collection of Sir Elton John And David Furnish. With more than 300 rare prints from more than 140 photographers – the majority of which will be exhibited to the public for the first time – Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection is the V&A’s largest temporary photography exhibition to date.
Following the exhibition The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection from 2016 at Tate Modern, this exhibition covers the period from the 1950s to the present. It brings together an unrivaled selection of the world’s greatest photographers to tell the story of modern and contemporary photography, and will include works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, Zanele Muholi, Ai Weiwei, Carrie Mae Weems. and others.
Marking 30 years of collecting, the exhibition celebrates Elton John and David Furnish’s passion for the medium and reflects their personal tastes and unique eye as collectors. Through eight thematic sections, the exhibition explores subjects such as fashion, reportage, celebrity, the male body and American photography. Portraits of stars of stage and screen will be featured, including photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Miles Davis and Chet Baker, as well as iconic images from key moments in the history of the 1960s civil rights movement, 1980s AIDS activism and events. of September 11, 2001. Also on display are Elton John’s earliest acquisitions, fashion photographs by Horst P. Horst, Irving Penn and Herb Ritts, as well as some of the most recent additions to their collection, including Tyler Mitchell, Trevor Paglen and An-Mon Lê.
Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection
Until January 5, 2025
V&A South Kensington
Cromwell Road
London, SW7 2RL
https://www.vam.ac.uk/i
In partnership with Gucci
