Meet the Stars: Terry O'Neill

Terry O’Neill (1938–2019) was one of the most influential portrait photographers of the twentieth century. Working largely from the 1960s onward, he documented a generation of artists, performers, and public figures at the moment when celebrity culture was rapidly changing. Rather than staging idealised images, O’Neill focused on access, timing, and observation. His photographs are defined by a sense of closeness, often made possible by long-term relationships with his subjects.

The works in Meet the Stars reflect the breadth of O’Neill’s practice. Musicians such as The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, The Who, and The Beatles appear both self-aware and unguarded. Film icons including Faye Dunaway, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Robert Redford, Roger Moore, and Roger Daltrey are shown away from red carpets and studio sets, captured in moments of pause, confidence, or reflection. Alongside them stands Johan Cruijff, whose presence highlights O’Neill’s interest in charisma beyond the entertainment industry.

Many of these photographs have become closely associated with the public image of their subjects, yet they resist spectacle. Dunaway sits by a pool the morning after the Academy Awards, Bowie leans forward in a sharp yellow suit, Winehouse meets the camera directly, and Cruijff moves through everyday spaces with quiet intensity. O’Neill’s compositions are often simple, allowing posture, gesture, and expression to carry meaning. Black-and-white images sit alongside colour works, reinforcing shifts in time while maintaining a consistent visual language.

What unites the selection is O’Neill’s ability to balance distance and familiarity. His photographs acknowledge fame, but they do not depend on it. Instead, they suggest that celebrity is temporary, while character endures. Meet the Stars invites viewers to look beyond reputation and recognise the individuals who shaped popular culture, not as symbols, but as people observed in precise, unguarded moments.