New Documentary on Terry O’Neill: His Life and Work

Terry O’Neill (1939-2019) was one of Britain’s most important photographers. In his portraits of some of the 20th century’s most iconic celebrities, O’Neill captured an era of cultural and social revolution, helping to define its visualisation.

Born in East London, O’Neill began his career taking photographs for Fleet Street newspapers in the late 1950s. His notable early work included both a photograph of an aged Winston Churchill, being carried out of hospital, and the very young faces of The Beatles. Already gaining access to the most influential people of his day, this early period bridges an emerging rift in British society, seen in the developing popularity of a youthful and rebellious counter-culture.

As a chosen visual communicator of the swinging cultural revolution, O’Neill would bring his capacity for intimacy and humour to portraits of American musicians and actors, and did so in a time when a new cult of celebrity was emerging in Hollywood.

Remaining within the heights of British society throughout the rest of his life, O’Neill went on to photograph a new generation of cultural icons, including models Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell in the early 1990’s and Amy Winehouse in 2008. Most notable was his commissioned portrait of the late Queen and Prince Phillip in 1992, in which O’Neill has been credited with achieving ‘the impossible’ – making the Queen drop her guard and chuckle into the camera.

The story of O’Neill’s extraordinary career is to be the subject of a new feature-length documentary. ‘Iconic: The Life And Work Of Terry O’Neill’ is soon to be released and is being celebrated as offering new insight into the man behind the lens. This landmark film is being made in close collaboration with O’Neill’s surviving family, using previously unheard recordings of O’Neill himself, allowing the photographer to offer a partial narration of his own story.

‘Iconic’ is the work of British filmmaker Oliver Murray whose notable previous work includes ‘My Life As A Rolling Stone’ and ‘The Beatles: Now And Then’. Both docu-series exhibit Murray’s knowledge of the period of O’Neill’s rise to fame and his appreciation for the humanity behind celebrity. Murray has said that he interviewed O’Neill in 2017 in preparation for ‘My Life As A Rolling Stone’ and “ever since then I wanted to bring his life and work to the screen. […] He can boil down someone’s essence and magnetism to a single brilliant image, displaying icons of our age as vulnerable and emotional.”

‘Iconic’ will be an incredible contribution to the story of one of the 20th century’s most influential photographers and his subjects – the people who drove the cultural revolution that changed British society forever. SOL LDN is delighted to be able to offer our collectors photographs by Terry O’Neill, including some of his most celebrated work.