Terry O´Neill

Rock legends, Hollywood stars, royalty and sports heroes. Mention a global celebrity from the second half of the 20th century and that person probably posed for Terry O’Neill’s camera. On 18 June, Fotografiska is opening its doors to Stars – the largest Terry O’Neill exhibition ever, featuring iconic portraits of Brigitte Bardot, Mick Jagger, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, The Beatles, Kate Moss and many more.

Largest ever Terry O’Neill exhibition at Fotografiska

No one was able to get as close to the stars as Terry O’Neill. The British photographer is one of the world’s most famous, and from the 1960s until his death in 2019, he took portraits of countless Hollywood stars, music legends, fashion icons, royalty and athletes. Stars at Fotografiska is the largest Terry O’Neill exhibition ever and a retrospective of the acclaimed photographer’s unique work with hundreds iconic photographs.

It includes famous portraits of Brigitte Bardot, Mick Jagger, Faye Dunaway, Audrey Hepburn and Frank Sinatra, and rarely seen photographs of stars like Elvis Presley, Elton John, Liza Minelli and Bianca Jagger. Two Swedish stars are also part of the exhibition: Britt Ekland and Izabella Scorupco.

“We gained access to Terry O’Neill’s complete archive and were also given the opportunity to scan unpublished photographs exclusively for the exhibition. This is an incredible photographic treasure,” says Johan Vikner, curator for Stars and Director of Global Exhibitions at Fotografiska.

Vouge, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine & Vanity Fair

Terry O’Neill’s career as a photographer began for the English newspaper Daily Sketch. After a couple of years, he started working as a freelance photographer for magazines like Vogue, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine and Vanity Fair. He was one of the world’s most published photographers in the 1960s up until the early 2000s. O’Neill’s photographs often took a personal approach, offering something completely different from the artificial portraits that were so common at the time, and even the most inaccessible stars wanted to pose for him.

In 1963, Terry O’Neill photographed both The Rolling Stones and The Beatles before they had had their big breaks, and for several years he accompanied famous musicians backstage on tours, such as artists like Elton John and David Bowie.

“Terry O’Neill had his breakthrough as a photographer around the same time as pop culture was exploding in the 1960s and became close to many of these stars before they had become famous. This enabled him to capture not just gorgeous portraits but also closer, more candid photos,” says Johan Vikner.

Treasures from celebrity history

“That photograph conveys exactly the confidence and trust that people felt with him. There is an incredible feeling in his photographs of honesty and candidness. He and Faye Dunaway even became a couple to boot,” says Vikner.

Join us at Fotografiska from 18 June to explore one of the greatest photographic treasures from celebrity history.