Elliott Gallery is excited to present:

Streets in, Studios out!

Fashion Photography by Norman Parkinson

10th May - 16th August 2025

at Elliott Gallery | Tussen de Bogen 91 | 1013 JB, Amsterdam

“I like to make people look as good as they’d like to look, and with luck, a shade better.”

-Norman Parkinson

"Streets in, Studios out!" explores the transformative career of trailblazing British photographer Norman Parkinson (1913-1990), whose innovative approach revolutionised editorial and fashion photography, shaping the way we see and appreciate style today. Spanning seven decades, Parkinson's work was instrumental in transitioning fashion imagery from rigid, posed studio shots to dynamic and immersive storytelling. His pioneering vision continues to shape contemporary editorial aesthetics, solidifying his legacy as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century fashion photography.

Famous for his iconic sense of style and glamour, Parkinson’s unexpected and unique approach has redefined the genre. His elegant yet approachable style, paired with his sharp wit apparent in some of his work, brought a freshness to the sometimes staid genres of fashion and portrait photography. Moving away from the formality of earlier photographic styles, Parkinson embraced movement, spontaneity, and natural settings. With striking use of compositions, a keen eye for talent, and an innate ability to capture the spirit of the times, Norman Parkinson’s work graced the pages of magazines like Vogue, Life, Harper’s Bazaar, Queen and Town & Country, leaving an enduring mark on the industry. 

This exhibition traces Norman Parkinson’s evolution as a fashion photographer, guiding viewers through his life-long career. “Streets in, Studios out!” highlights Parkinson’s continuously evolving approach to capturing fashion, from breaking free of studio constraints to developing a narrative-driven style and his innovative use of colour and composition. Featuring portraits of the era’s most iconic models and celebrities, like Apollonia van Ravenstein, Jerry Hall, Audrey Hepburn, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Jane Birkin, alongside a number of previously unseen images, the show stands as a testament to a legacy defined by transformation and an eccentric vision in fashion imagery. 

Beginning his career as an apprentice to court photographers, then opening his own studio in London, Parkinson had his breakthrough in 1935 when Harper’s Bazaar editor Joyce Reynolds commissioned his first fashion shoot. An assignment that marked the beginning of a long-standing collaboration with the magazine and the launch of his fashion photography career. Working for Harper’s Bazaar and The Bystander in his early career, Parkinson rejected the formal constraints of traditional studio photography. Instead, inspired by contemporaries such as photojournalist-turned-fashion photographer Martin Munkácsi, Parkinson championed outdoor settings, movement, and natural light, capturing his models in action shots. 

A year after leaving Harper’s Bazaar, Parkinson joined British Vogue in 1941, documenting what Vogue art director John Parsons called “the rustic elegancies of England.” By the late 1940s, he moved to New York to work with American Vogue, being drawn to its vibrant studios and increasingly colourful pages. “I scanned the plush pages of American Vogue and Harper’s; beautifully lit and reproduced full pages were appearing in every issue in ‘glorious colour […]” told Parkinson in his autobiography, Lifework. As fashion photography shifted from rigid studio shots to a dynamic, photojournalistic style, Parkinson played a key role in this transformation. His increasing use of colour photography, which he called “largely magic”, paved the way for the youthful energy of the Swinging Sixties. With a filmic approach to storytelling, his work blended glamour with spontaneity, transporting viewers to beautiful locations worldwide. 

In the 1960s, Parkinson became Associate Editor and Contributing Photographer at the newly re-launched Queen magazine after leaving Vogue in 1959. Aimed at the emerging youth market, Queen was at the forefront of the Swinging Sixties, and Parkinson, now in his late forties, was perfectly positioned to capture the era’s cultural revolution. His covers and editorials featured rising stars like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, while his keen eye for talent helped launch models such as Celia Hammond.

After returning to Vogue in the mid-1960s, Parkinson continued to redefine fashion photography throughout the 1970s. Taking models to tropical locations like the Seychelles, Jamaica, and Barbados and using exclusively colour photography, he produced some of his most iconic images. Notable trips included his travels to the Soviet Union and Jamaica with Jerry Hall and to the Seychelles and Barbados with Apollonia van Ravenstein for British Vogue. A champion of individuality throughout his career, Parkinson’s portraits of many of the greatest fashion icons of the 20th century emphasised personality, shaping a new vision of expressive, unconventional fashion.

In the 1980s, Parkinson joined Town & Country, working with editor-in-chief Frank Zachary to document the glamorous world of international high society at home or in vibrant locations from Sri Lanka to the Yucatán.

Norman Parkinson passed away while on location for a Town & Country shoot in Malaysia. 

Throughout his career, Parkinson continuously reinvented both himself and the industry producing a legacy that ranges from his images pioneering action realism in the 1930s to the increasingly colourful shots of the Swinging Sixties and the lavish destination shoots of the 1970s and 1980s. His work for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Queen and Town & Country set new editorial standards, blending elegance with adventure and wit. By placing fashion within cultural moments, he made high fashion both aspirational and accessible. His mastery of composition, colour, and setting ensured his lasting influence on modern fashion photography, shaping the aesthetics of magazines for generations to come.

Please, contact us at info@elliott.gallery for press inquiries.