Brian Duffy Dies

[farou7a]

LEGENDARY Sixties photographer Brian Duffy has died aged 76. The photographer passed away on 31 May having lost his battle to pulmonary fibrosis.

Alongside David Bailey and Terence Bailey, Duffy formed what has been described by Norman Parkinson as the Black Trinity. The trio is said to have broken the mould of traditional fashion photography, taking inspiration from street style and rejecting the more regimented studio imagery of the Fifties.

"Before 1960, a fashion photographer was tall, thin and camp," Duffy once said. "But we three are different: short, fat and heterosexual. We were great mates but also great competitors. We were fairly chippy and if you wanted it you could have it. We would not be told what to do."

Duffy completed his training at Central Saint Martins before undertaking an apprenticeship at Balenciaga. In 1957 he began work at British Vogue only leaving in 1963 to work from his studio. Among the many famous faces who sat for Duffy were Jean Shrimpton, Nina Simone, Brigitte Bardot, John Lennon, Michael Caine and Sammy Davis Jr. Duffy also dabbled with advertising and shot award-winning campaigns for Benson & Hedges cigarettes and Smirnoff Vodka.

David Bailey, now the only surviving member of the Black Trinity, paid tribute to Duffy.

"I will deeply miss arguing with him," he told The Sunday Telegraph. "If you said "Good morning" to Duffy, he'd question it, that was his charm but I could do that Cockney thing with him of defusing it with humour. Cantankerous was a word made for Duffy, it was just his character. You always knew it was never going to be dull with him, because he was always going to pick an argument somewhere down the line."

vogue.com

 

[iluvjeisa]

Another great photographer is gone. Rest in Peace.

 

[tigerrouge]

Some people shared their memories of the man on bbc.co.uk:

One of the funniest men I ever met. Spent several afternoons helpless with laughter round at his Primrose Hill studio. "Suddenly taken drunk", was his immortal way of describing an amateur drinker. Cheers Duffy.
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Julian Moseley, London

Duffy was a huge influence on my work and a great talent in a world often neglected by the British (unlike America or Europe). He paved the way for me and others like me. I salute him and will miss his presence.
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Cambridge Jones, Island of Hydra, Greece

I had the pleasure of working with Duffy in 1987 on a bizarre trip to Goa, he was an incredibly talented and lovely guy who always had the artistic and commercial edge on Bailey in my opinion.
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David Titlow, London

In the mid seventies, I was in a band called Asylum, and Brian Duffy took our publicity photos for us. We spent a couple of hours at his studio. He was genial host, and went out of his way to explain the photographic techniques he was using, and what he was trying to achieve. There was no sign of the infamous bad temper, and the photographs he took were brilliant. RIP Duffy.
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Sev Lewkowicz, Brighton

Again it goes back to the halcyon days of the 60s when I, as a young assistant to Jeremy King in Camden Town, had the pleasure of being "loaned" out to him over a week or so. Great guy as they all were in their creativity and lateral thinking. Some years later his son assisted me on occasion. So yes, another great loss to the profession.
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Mike, Ipswich

I've been aware of Brian Duffy's photography for many years without really knowing who the photographer was, especially the photos he took for David Bowie's Aladdin Sane and Lodger albums. I wasn't really aware of Duffy until I watched a BBC4 documentary about him earlier this year. He seemed to not only to be a hugely talented photographer, but also a very impressive person. I loved the fact he stayed true to himself as an artist and person, and didn't became a lovey.
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Ben Scarr, UK

Everyone who knew Duffy remembers their first argument from him. I was moving into my underground studio in Camden, where he also had two studios; I borrowed a trolley outside his door - my mistake! He taught me a lot about my own short fuse, and over the next eight years he taught me much over many cups of tea: from antiquity and art, to zealots and Zulus, he had an opinion on everything and good with it too. He recounted tales of his war in London, swimming in the Regent's Canal at the Idris plant in Camden, he told it like it was, through Duffy's lens.
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Steve Proyer, London

He will be sadly missed I had the pleasure of knowing all three as being a photographer in the 60s as well, we all played together - cheers to you Duffy drinks are on me.
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Adrian Olins, Thame, UK

Duffy, Baily and Hoffman were one of the reasons I became a photographer at 13 in 60s. They had a direct and intense understanding of photography, and showed a new, fresh and bold way to capture people. Duffy will be sadly missed but we will never forget his legacy.
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Steve, Aspers, USA

I was a photographic assistant for Donald Silverstein during the late 60s and while Silverstein's Riding House Street studio was being rebuilt, (after a fire), we worked out of Duffy's studio, and I remember some wonderful verbal punch ups between the two of them; they were chalk and cheese, one an East End boy, the other a middle class jewish New Yorker. It was a wonderful experience for me, comparing their two very different shooting styles, Duffy always made it look so effortless...he'll be sadly missed.
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Max Adelman, London

 

[farou7a]

Aw bless them..

Its really sad.. R.I.P

 

[MulletProof]

Rest in peace.

 

[Over the Sea]

terrible loss
R.I.P.