David Hurn

David Hurn (born 21 July 1934) is an English documentary photographer and member of Magnum Photos.

Life and work

Hurn was born on 21 July 1934 in Redhill, Surrey, England. He is of Welsh descent.

Hurn is a self-taught photographer. He began his career in 1955 when he worked for Reflex Agency. He gained his reputation as a photojournalist for his documentation of the Hungarian revolution of 1956, and is featured in two of Ken Russell's films for the Monitor television arts' series, A House in Bayswater (1960),^[1] and Watch the Birdie (1963).^[2] In 1965 he became associated with Magnum Photos and became a full member in 1967.

In 1963, Hurn was commissioned by the producers of the James Bond films to shoot a series of stills with Sean Connery and the actresses of From Russia with Love. When the theatrical property Walther PPK pistol didn't arrive, Hurn volunteered the use of his own Walther LP-53 air pistol.^[3] The pistol became a symbol of James Bond on many film posters of the series.

In 1967 Dino de Laurentiis asked Hurn to travel to Rome to shoot photos of Jane Fonda in Barbarella.^[4]

In 1973 he set up the School of Documentary Photography in Newport, Wales. Eventually, he turned away from documentary photojournalism, bringing a more personal approach to his image making. He says, "There are many forms of photography. I consider myself simply a recorder of that which I find of interest around me. I personally have no desire to create or stage direct ideas."^[5] His book, Wales: Land of My Father (2000), illustrates the traditional and the modern aspects of Wales.

In 2001 he was diagnosed with colon cancer but made a full recovery.^[6] He continues to live and work in Wales.

Publications

Publications by Hurn

• David Hurn: Photographs 1956-1976. London: Arts Council of UK, 1979. ISBN 978-0-7287-0202-8.
• Wales: Land of My Father. London: Thames & Hudson, 2000. ISBN 978-0-500-01983-2.
• Living in Wales. Bridgend: Seren 2003. ISBN 978-1-85411-339-9.
• Rebirth of a Capital. Cardiff: Cardiff County Council, 2005. ISBN 978-0-902466-22-7.
• Writing the Picture. Bridgend: Seren 2010. ISBN 978-1854115317.
• The 1960s Photographed by David Hurn. London: Reel Art Press, 2015. ISBN 978-1909526136.

Publications with others

• On Being a Photographer: a Practical Guide. Photography & the Creative Process: a Series by LensWork Publishing. Anacortes, WA: Lenswork Publishing, 1997. ISBN 978-1-888803-06-8. With Bill Jay. And subsequent editions.
• On Looking at Photographs: A Practical Guide. Anacortes, WA: Lenswork Publishing, 2000. ISBN 978-1-888803-09-9. With Bill Jay.

Awards

• 1971: Welsh Arts Council Award
• 1975: Kodak Social Photographic Bursary
• 1979/80: U.K./USA Bicentennial Fellowship
• 1987/88: Imperial War Museum Arts Award
• 1993/94: Bradford Fellowship
• 1995: Arts Council of Wales Bursary
• 2016: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society^[7]

Exhibition

• 2014: Land of My Father, Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, 2014.^[8] Part of the Britain in Focus theme of Photobiennale 2014, the UK-Russia Year of Culture.

Collections

• Welsh Arts Council, Cardiff, UK
• Contemporary Arts Society for Wales, Cardiff, UK
• Arts Council of Great Britain, London
• British Council, London
• Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
• Galerie du Château d'Eau, Toulouse, France
• International Center of Photography, New York
• Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ
• University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
• California Museum of Photography, USA
• National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales, UK

References

External links

• Magnum Photos biography and portfolio
• David Hurn interview by Graham Harrison at Photo Histories
• Fonda memories at The Times
• Picture this at the Western Mail