All | Art & Photography | Exhibition News

Tate Modern to exhibit Elton John’s photography collection


Tate Modern has announced details of a major new exhibition featuring photography from the collection of Sit Elton John.
The exhibition will feature the work of over 60 photographers, including Man Ray, André Kertész, Berenice Abbot, Alexandr Rodchenko and Edward Steichen, with more than 150 vintage prints made by the artists themselves.

John has spent more than 25 years assembling one of the world’s finest collections of Modernist photography, and the exhibition will mark the start of a long-term project with Tate to bring his collection to a wider audience.

"This will be a truly unique exhibition," said Tate Director Nicholas Serota. "There are few collections of modernist photography in the UK, so we are delighted that Sir Elton John has allowed us to draw on his incredible collection and give everyone a chance to see these iconic works. Coming face-to-face with such masterpieces of photography will be a rare and rewarding experience."

The exhibition will trace the development of photography in the 20th century, as artists sought to use new technology to redefine visions of the modern world.

From images of bustling urban street life to timeless nudes, surreal experiments in the darkroom or portraits of major artistic figures such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso, the exhibition will feature many iconic images exhibited together for the first time in their history.

"It is a great honour for David and I to lend part of our collection to Tate Modern for this groundbreaking exhibition," said Sir Elton John. "The modernist era in photography is one of the key moments within the medium and collecting work from this period has brought me great joy over the last 25 years. Each of these photographs serves as inspiration for me in my life; they line the walls of my homes and I consider them precious gems.

"We are thrilled to be part of this collaboration with Tate Modern and hope that the exhibition audience experiences as much joy in seeing the works as I have had in finding them.”

The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection opens at Tate Modern on November 10, and runs until May 7, 2017.


Just Collecting