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Philip Townsend
The Beatles with the
Maharishi
in 1968
Between
1958 and 1969 Philip Townsend was a well-known photographer,
working for many leading magazines and newspapers both in the
UK and abroad.
Mr
Townsend must have met more icons than even the most dedicated
stalker as a photographer in the swinging sixties, snapping
everyone from the Beatles to Winston Churchill.
Now,
thirty-five years later, the world of photography from the
sixties is being shaken up by the launch of this fabulous
archive.
He
first had a studio in Beauchamp Place, in partnership with
Lord Christopher Thynne, 2nd son of the last
Marquis of Bath. They became successful photographers, with
Philip working regularly for Tatler. After a couple of years,
Philip decided it was time for a change and went freelancing
in the south of France. While there, he photographed most of
the people who were regular visitors or residents of the area.
They included Princess Grace, her husband Prince Rainier,
their children Caroline and Albert. Among other images are
those of Winston Churchill with Aristotle, Maria Callas,
Marlon Brando and Joan Fontaine.
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| An Aston
Martin with champagne glasses on the bonnet |
Actress Charlotte
Rampling |
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| Mick
Jagger sounding off |
Frankie
Howerd having a bit of fun on a skateboard |
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Returning
to London, he became friendly with Andrew Loog Oldham,
legendary record producer and the first manager of the Rolling
Stones. As a result of this connection collections of
photographs of the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Gene Pitney,
Martha and the Vandellas, Peter and Gordon, Jimmy Page with
Carter Lewis, Marty Wilde and The Shadows were added to the
archive.
Among
the actors in the archive excluding those above are Charlotte
Rampling, Jacqueline Bissett, Edina Ronay, Dawn Adams, Glen
Ford, Dudley Moore and Frankie Howard. There is also an
exclusive collection of over 50 images of Alex Guinness, Ralph
Richardson, David Niven and Jack Hawkins with their wives and
children on holiday at the same time in 1962.
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| John and
George having a meditative moment |
Cilla
Black and Queen of the Mods Cathy McGowan |
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| Keith
Richards and Mick Jagger |
Fashion
at Lord Kitchener's Valet |
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The
top 40 pictures in the collection, not listed above include
Rory Davis (model), Jean Paul Getty, Yuri Gagarin (first
person in space), Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Mick
Jagger and Keith Richards. And, last but not least, Michael
Winner.
Philip
gave up photography in 1969 at the age of 29 for reasons he
still can’t explain himself. His archive was consigned to a
cupboard, where it remained for nearly thirty-five years.
He
then moved into journalism which, somewhat bizarrely, led him
to becoming Rupert Murdoch’s private butler in 1986. These
days Philip Townsend sells his work to collectors, image
libraries and museums. And his passion doesn’t stop there;
he continues to host exhibitions all over the country.
Fashion old and fashion new and an E-Type Jaguar
More
great images can be found and purchased at:
www.philiptownsend.com
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