Jane Bown Biography
Jane Bown has more than 50 years of experience as the professional portrait photographer for The Observer Newspaper, which published her first photograph in 1949. By 1980 her fame was such that the National Portrait Gallery, London, held an exhibition of her work, and in 1985 she was awarded an MBE and the CBE.
During her time with the Observer, a period of over 45 years, Jane photographed personalities as diverse as Nixon, Margaret Thatcher, Lauren Bacall, Isabella Rossellini and John Lennon.
Working exclusively in black & white, using only natural light and two cameras, she has photographed many of the most famous individuals of the 20th Century.
Her unerring eye and talent for revealing the personalities of her sitters have won her tremendous critical acclaim.