Brian Duffy (photographer)

Brian Duffy
Self-portrait of Duffy, 1968
Born	(1933-06-15)15 June 1933 United Kingdom
Died	31 May 2010(2010-05-31) (aged 76) United Kingdom
Occupation	Photographer, film producer
Children	Christopher, Charlotte, Samantha & Carey

Brian Duffy (15 June 1933 – 31 May 2010) was an English photographer and film producer, best remembered for his fashion and portrait photography of the 1960s and 1970s.

Brian Duffy was born to Irish parents in London in 1933. During World War II he was evacuated with his two brothers and sister to Kings Langley where he was taken in by the actors Roger Livesey and Ursula Jeans. After a few weeks, his mother, unhappy about her four children being split up from the family insisted they all return to London. When the bombing in London became intense they were evacuated for a second time to Wales but returned to London having lived on a remote farm for a month.

Once back in London, Duffy 'had the most wonderful war', breaking into abandoned houses and running wild. Only when it was over did he start school, first attending a liberal school in Chelsea where the London County Council had adopted a policy that treated difficult children with a programme of cultural experiences to broaden their horizons. Duffy was involved in several bouts of trouble and was moved onto another school for difficult boys in Kentish Town where once again emphasis was placed on treating troubled youths through cultural inclusion which involved school trips to the Opera, ballet, art galleries and cultural institutions. It was here that Duffy unveiled his own creative tendencies and upon finishing school he applied to Saint Martin's School of Art. In 1950 he started art school with the intention to be a painter but soon realised that his peers were more talented and moved onto a dress design course 'where all the pretty girls were'. He finished St. Martin's in 1953 and immediately began working as an assistant designer at Susan Small, after which he worked for Victor Steibel, the preferred designer to Princess Margaret. Following this, on a visit to Paris, he was offered a job at Balenciaga but was unable to take it up as his wife June was pregnant with their eldest son Chris.

In 1955 Duffy began freelancing as a fashion artist for Harper's Bazaar where he first came into contact with commercial photography. Inspired by the photographic contact sheets he saw passing through the art director's desk he sought a job as a photographers assistant. Unsuccessfully, he applied for a job with John French and was subsequently employed at Carlton studios and then at Cosmopolitan Artists. Duffy went on to work as an assistant to the photographer Adrian Flowers and whilst working for Flowers he received his first photographic commission from Ernestine Carter, who was the fashion editor of The Sunday Times.