Photo: Matilda Temperley
‘When human beings are suffering, they tend to look up, as if hoping for salvation. And that’s when I press the button.’
– Don McCullin
Photographer Don McCullin has witnessed some of the most harrowing humanitarian disasters of the last half-century, having covered every major conflict in his adult lifetime. His assignments included the Vietnam and Biafra War, Northern Ireland, the Lebanese Civil War, Belgian Congo, the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the fall of Phnom Penh. In pursuit of his work, he was wounded in Cambodia, fell from a roof in Salvador, was imprisoned by the Idi Amin regime in Uganda, and contracted cerebral malaria in West Africa. But in the course of his long career, and through his dedication to documenting global wars and conflict, he has become celebrated both as a master of black and white photography, and as history’s greatest war photographer.
His early professional career shone a harsh spotlight on the reality of post-war life, including the stark landscapes of the industrial north, the increasing unemployment and homelessness levels in the capital, and growing unrest across the country. For the last two decades, McCullin has turned to look at the land around him, namely the Somerset village in which he was evacuated during the Blitz. Often referring to the sweeping rural landscape as his greatest salvation, the photographer demonstrates the full mastery of his medium with stark black and white images resonating with human emotion whilst retaining the honesty and grit synonymous with his earlier works.
McCullin holds a Commander of the British Empire medal, and is only the second photographer to become a Knight of the Realm. Major exhibitions include: ‘Hearts of Darkness,’ Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England (1980); Barbican Center, London, England (1998); La Maison de la Photographie, Paris, France (2002); ‘Shaped By War,’ Imperial War Museum, London, England (2012); Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries, England (2017), a part of the Tate’s highly celebrated Artist Rooms. A major retrospective will take place at the Tate Britain, London, England in early 2019.
Don McCullin
Biography
Print Biography1948 Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts and Buildings
1954-56 Military service in RAF
Selected Solo Exhibitions
XPOSURE International Photography Festival - Sharjah UAE
Don McCullin: Photo London Master of Photography 2016, Photo London, Somerset House, UK
Eighty, Hamiltons Gallery, London, UK
ARTIST ROOMS, Don McCullin, Shetland Museum & Archives and Bonhoga Gallery, Lerwick, Shetland, UK
The Observer Observed, Holburne Museum, Bath, UK
Don McCullin: A Retrospective, National Gallery Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Shaped by War, Imperial War Museum, London, UK
Don McCullin – Platinum, Hamiltons Gallery, London, UK
Don McCullin: In England, National Media Museum, Brighton, UK
Shaped by War, Imperial War Museum North, Manchester, UK
Shaped by War, Victoria Gallery, Bath, UK
Faith And Church: Portraits By Don McCullin, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK
Cold Heaven: Don McCullin on Aids in Africa, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY
Don McCullin, Photographies 1961-2001, Maison Europeenne de la Photographie, Paris, France
Don McCullin - Retrospektive - Museum Folkwang Essen, Essen, Germany
Retrospective, at the Palais de l’Archevêché, Les Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles, France
Selected Group Exhibitions
Drawn by Light: The Royal Photographic Society Collection, National Media Museum, Bradford
Blow-Up, Antonionis Filmklassiker und die Fotografie, C/O Berlin, Berlin
A selection from the Permanent Collection, Marrakech Museum for Photography and Visual Arts, Marrakech, Morocco
A occhi aperti, Reggia di Venaria, Venaria Reale, TO
Masterworks An Exhibition Of Works By Modern Masters Of Photography, Hamiltons Gallery, London
Images Of Armed Conflict And Its Aftermath, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Nueva York, NY War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Manifesta 9, Koolmijn van Waterschei-Genk, Genk
Guerra Y Paz: Una Visión Personal - Museo San Telmo, San Sebastián
Art of Arrangement, Holburne Museum, Bath, Somerset
The Sunday Times Magazine 50th Anniversary, The Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Moments of our Time, Atlas Gallery, London, UK
Gallery Selections, Hamiltons Gallery, London, UK
Polka Magazine (#2) - Polka Galerie, Paris
Les choix dCB - Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris
Awards and Grants
Doctor Honoris Causa, Bradford University
Bibliography
Artist's Publications
McCullin, Don, ‘Unreasonable Behaviour: The Updated Autobiography’, with Lewis Chester, revised edition, Jonathan Cape, London, 2015
Jonathan Cape, London, 2009
McCullin, Don, Don McCullin Supporting the Freedom of the Press, 100 Photographs, Reporters sans frontières, Paris (French/English Edition), 2009
McCullin, Don, ‘Photofile’, Thames & Hudson, London (English edition of Photo Poche), 2007
McCullin, Don, ‘Photo Poche’, Lunwerg, Barcelona, Madrid (Spanish edition of Photo Poche), 2007
McCullin, Don, ‘Risques et perils’, Delpire, Paris (French edition of Don McCullin’s autobiography), 2007
McCullin, Don, ‘Un comportamento irragionevole’, Contrasto, Milano (Italian edtition of autobiography), 2007
French edition: ‘Don McCullin en Afrique, Éditions de La Martinière, Paris, 2005; German edition: ‘Don McCullin in Afrika’, Knesebeck, Munich, 2005
French edition: Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris 2001
McCullin, Don, ‘Don McCullin’ (small-format English edition), Jonathan Cape, London, 2003
McCullin, Don, Shand, Mark, ‘Skulduggery’ (text by Mark Shand); pocket edition, Penguin, London 1994
McCullin, Don, ‘The Palestinians’, (text by Jonathan Dimbleby), Quartet Books, London, 1979
Exhibition Catalogues
Gallery Exhibitions
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Events
Please note we have taken the decision to postpone this event. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, however the safety of our staff and visitors is our highest priority. We will be in touch with a full refund to those who have purchased tickets. Dinner reservations…
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Join us for an exclusive screening of the film ‘McCullin’ (2012), held to coincide with the current exhibition ‘Don McCullin. The Stillness of Life’ at Hauser & Wirth Somerset. The documentary film is a candid portrayal of Don McCullin’s life and work in photojournalism over the…
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