Barry Lategan (7 January 1935 – 11 August 2024) was a South African-born fashion, editorial and commercial photographer, best known for his discovery of, and early work with, Twiggy and for

British Vogue ''British Vogue'' (stylised in all caps) is the British edition of the American Fashion journalism, fashion magazine Vogue (magazine), Vogue. The magazine was launched in 1916 by Condé Nast, linking together fashion and high society.König A ...

and Italian Vogue.

Life and career

Lategan was born on 7 January 1935 in South Africa, and came to Britain in 1955 to study at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS was an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance a ...

. He was called up for national service with the RAF and it was during this period that he discovered photography. He returned to South Africa in 1959 and assisted the Cape Town photographer Ginger Oads. He returned to London in 1961. In a comparison with David Bailey, Lategan was described as 'the Gainsborough of fashion photography' to Bailey's Hogarth. Over his career he photographed

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, Iman,

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John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

, and

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. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

in 2007. His photography has been exhibited by the Victoria and Albert Museum, The National Portrait Gallery, the Olympus Gallery, the Royal Photographic Society, Bath, and the South African National Gallery. Lategan suffered a serious fall in 2006 which caused a serious brain injury and increasingly affected his behaviour. In 2016 he was diagnosed with

frontotemporal dementia Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), also called frontotemporal degeneration disease or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of the brain's frontal lobe, frontal and tempor ...

(FTD) while sectioned under the Mental Health Act. In 2015, Lategan faced a criminal trial for sexual assault after he was accused of groping two women he scouted in 2013 and 2014. Lategan died in London on 11 August 2024, at the age of 89.

References

External links

Barry Lategan Archive
1935 births 2024 deaths Photographers from London British fashion photographers South African emigrants to the United Kingdom {{UK-photographer-stub