Harry Diamond (25 August 1924 – 3 December 2009) was a photographer known for his photographs of artists, jazz musicians, and the East End of London. He was born and worked in London. At the time of his death, Diamond was described in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' as "one of the heroes of British 20th-century photography ...his acutely observed pictures showed a polish and hue not often seen in the canons of British photography."

Subjects

Before becoming a photographer in the 1960s, Harry Diamond worked as a

stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work includes setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General ...

. He often drank in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

and photographed many of the artists several times, including

Frank Auerbach Frank Helmut Auerbach (29 April 1931 – 11 November 2024) was a German-born British painter. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, he became a naturalised British subject in 1947. He is considered one of the leading names in the School of Lo ...

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

, and

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. His early career as a painter was inf ...

, Stephen Finer, John Wonnacott and others, as well as the photographer

John Deakin John Deakin (8 May 1912 – 25 May 1972) was an English photographer, best known for his work centred on members of Francis Bacon (artist), Francis Bacon's The Colony Room, Soho inner circle. Bacon based a number of famous paintings on photogra ...

. Other artists whom he photographed included Michael Andrews,

William Coldstream Sir William Menzies Coldstream, CBE (28 February 1908 – 18 February 1987) was an English realist painter and a long-standing art teacher. Biography Coldstream was born at Belford, Northumberland, in northern England, the second son of co ...

, Peter Saunders, Edward Middleditch,

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi was born on 7 M ...

, Peter Blake, and the duo

Gilbert and George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942) are artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their formal appearance ...

. Diamond also took a portrait of the poet

Eddie Linden Edward Sean Linden (born John Edward Glackin; 5 May 1935 – 19 November 2023) was a Scottish-Irish poet, literary magazine editor, and political activist. From 1969 to 2002, he published and edited the poetry magazine ''Aquarius'', which '' Th ...

in 1975. From his interest in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, Diamond also photographed jazz musicians. An early exhibition was called " West End Blues" after

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

's recording. Diamond photographed the

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Orchestra, photographing

Paul Jeffrey Paul Jeffrey (April 8, 1933 – March 20, 2015) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and educator. He was a member of Thelonious Monk's regular group from 1970–1975, and also worked extensively with other musicians such as Charles ...

and

Paul Gonsalves Paul Gonsalves ( – ) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's " Diminuendo and Crescendo in Bl ...

together and Ellington himself on stage. A photograph of Ellington was chosen by Bruce Bernard for the collection he made of 100 photographs from 1840 to 1990 that were exhibited at the V & A and published in the

Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional of ...

book of the same name. Diamond photographed people in London streets, and as buildings disappeared, photographed the East End of London where he lived.

Collections and photographic archive

Diamond's photographs are in the collections of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

, the

Arts Council Collection The Arts Council Collection is a national loan collection of modern and contemporary British art. It was founded in 1946. The collection continues to acquire works each year. The Arts Council Collection reaches its audience through loans to publ ...

and photographs formerly owned by

Sam Wagstaff Samuel Jones Wagstaff Jr. (November 4, 1921 – January 14, 1987) was an American art curator, collector, and the artistic mentor and benefactor of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (who was also his lifetime companion) and poet-punk rocker Patti ...

were acquired in 1984 by

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...

. Harry Diamond’s photographic archive is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

Publications

Among other publications, Diamond's photographs have appeared in ''

The Sunday Times Magazine ''The Sunday Times Magazine'' is a magazine included with ''The Sunday Times''. In 1962 it became the first colour supplement to be published as a supplement to a UK newspaper, and its arrival "broke the mould of weekend newspaper publishing". ...

'', ''

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

Magazine'', ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the highest circulation of paid newspapers in the UK. Its sister paper ''The Mail on Sunday'' was launch ...

'','' Telegraph Magazine'', ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'', ''

London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and poetry. A number of Nobel Laureates, including Annie Ernaux, Albert Camus, Doris L ...

'', '' Into Jazz'', ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'', ''

Art International ''Art International'' known as ''Art International Magazine'', was an art journal based in Switzerland and issued 10 times per year, before moving to Paris, where it was issued quarterly. James A. Fitzsimmons was the magazine's first chief editor ...

'', ''

British Journal of Photography The ''British Journal of Photography'' (BJP) is a magazine about photography, published by 1854 Media. It includes in-depth articles, profiles of photographers, analyses, and technological reviews. History The magazine was established in Liverpoo ...

'', ''

Modern Painters Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', and ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic Church, Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by ...

''. His photographs have appeared in books and catalogues and on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

. Harry Diamond's photograph of Duke Ellington appears in 100 photographs chosen by Bruce Bernard, published by Phaidon to accompany the exhibition held at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

. The book ''One Hundred Photographs: A Collection by Bruce Bernard'' was published by

in 2002.book: ''One Hundred Photographs'', Phaidon
/ref> ''

'' reproduced eleven of Diamond's photographs in a single issue in 1973. His photographs were the subject of articles in '' Creative Camera'' by Tom Evans, ''

New Society ''New Society'' was a weekly magazine of social inquiry and social and cultural comment, published in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1988. It drew on the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, psychology, human geography, social history and s ...

'' and an illustrated feature in ''

''.

Selected exhibitions

Diamond's photographs have been shown in the

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Royal ...

, Photographer's Gallery,

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in Theater, theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a ...

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, also known as the Louisiana, is an art museum located north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Attracting over 700,000 guests annually, the Louisiana is Scandinavia's most visited museum for Modern art, modern and contempor ...

, Michael Parkin Fine Art, Cafe Gallery Southwark (no
Southwark Park Galleries
,

Sudley House Sudley House is a historic house in Aigburth, Liverpool, England. Built in 1824 and much modified in the 1880s, it is now a museum and art gallery which contains the collection of George Holt, a shipping-line owner and former resident, in it ...

, The Space,

Whitechapel Art Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...

and elsewhere.

Portraits of Harry Diamond

Harry Diamond was painted four times by Lucian Freud, first in ''Interior at Paddington'' in 1951 and three times subsequently. A photograph by Herb Greer of Diamond with Frank Norman appears on the cover of Norman's book ''Stand on Me'' published in 1959.

Death

Diamond died aged 85 in Whipps Cross Hospital on 3 December 2009.

References

External links

Harry Diamond photographs in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Lucian Freud's portrait of Harry Diamond, 'Interior at Paddington', Walker Gallery Liverpool
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Harry 1924 births 2009 deaths Photographers from London Jazz photographers