VogueGirl8910
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Willie Christie was born in 1948. Having left Eton at aged 17, he took a varied route - including a spells in Australia and working on Burton & Taylor's yacht, Kalizma– to his career as a photographer. David Anthony gave him his first job as an assistant and he got the bug which was then embedded by working for the great Clive Arrowsmith.
In 1971 he took the leap from assistant to photographer and a commission from Over 21 Magazine in 1973 opened the doors to a full time career.
During the 70s and early 80s he worked extensively as a photographer with British Vogue, which included working closely with Grace Coddington who had spotted his talent and Liz Tilberis. He went on to shoot 12 Vogue covers and many inside spreads with them. His portfolio includes award winning advertising campaigns (L'Oreal and Yves St Laurent), fashion and portrait work for international icons (Cary Grant, Grace Jones, Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, Sir John Mills, Catherine Deneuve...) and Rock 'n' Roll album covers and portraits (Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Lou Reed...).
Willie Christie's work has been showcased in Vision Gallery (Arizona), the Little Black Gallery, selected for the RA's Summer Exhibition 2011 and his Mick Jagger portrait of 1969 was selected for the international tour of Les Recontres D'Arles 2010 exhibition (click to see the guardian vodcast). Still rolling, this exhibition moves to the Da VinciMuseum, Tokyo, May 31st to July 29th, 2013. He is work is featured in a wide selection of books including; People in Vogue by Robin Derrick & Robin Muir, Wonderful Today by Pattie Boyd and Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd by Nick Mason...
The lure of film pulled him away from photographs in 1982, and he subsequently moved into the realm of writing and directing commercials and music videos, such as Pink Floyd's 'Final Cut' and the first cinema commercial for Medway shoes. Many of his advertisements went on to win various awards including Creative Circle, Lion and Clio amongst others.
In 1998 he adapted and filmed The Whisper , a short story by Anton Chekhov starring Michael Gough, Jamie Glover and fourteen year old Emma Pierson which made it to the BAFTA short list (1998). Other recent projects have included directing a limited run of Siren by David Williamson at London's Grace Theatre in 2000 . Willie Christie now focuses on screen writing as well as continuing his love of photography.
The launch of Willie’s Limited Edition Collection in 2011 marked the first time the photographer has delved into his personal archives to showcase work that has not been displayed for over three decades. Following a successful pop up show at The Club at The Ivy in September 2011, the collection went on show at The Century Club (in Soho) followed by'Eight' in London's City.
December, 2011 he held a one-night show in aid of ‘Facing the World’ and this year he designed a BT ArtBox in aid of ChildLine. The box was displayed in the windows of Harvey Nichols and stood outside Vogue House for four weeks.
In 1973, Willie was also to be spotted playing bass for Roxy Music on Top of the Pops. More recently, much to his delight, he was named as the third of Justin de Villeneuve’s influences. Along with Avedon and Bert Stern…
‘Grace in a Window by the Sea’ has just appeared in Time magazine to accompany an article on Grace Coddington.
williechristie.com
