The Camera Never Lies

We are approaching the end of the Vanity Fair Portraits Exhibition depicting photographs from the magazine between 1913 and 2008 which ends on 21 September. This is being shown at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh. Admission is £6/£4.

This is a wonderful collection of 150 classic images showing for the first time works from 1913 - 1936 displayed with contemporary images from Vanity Fair’s magazines from 1983 to the present day.

Early subjects from the first incarnation are celebrities such as Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin and Jean Harlow. These have been taken by legendary photographers including Edward Steichen, Cecil Beaton, Man Ray and others. The more contemporary works from the re-launch in 1983 feature a wide range of subjects from Arthur Miller to Madonna, taking in the legendary nude picture of Demi Moore in the seventh month of pregnancy. One of the most striking is a piercing picture of Margaret Thatcher by Helmut Newton taken in 1991. Mario Testino’s portraits of the late Princess Diana and Prince William are stunning and my personal favourites. There is a gorgeous portrait of Cary Grant taken in 1934 and Annie Leibovitz’s work is well represented.

There is so much to see and this is a unique record of part of social history the Exhibition is well worth a visit in its final week.