The Unknown Bown

The Observer published its first Jane Bown photograph in December 1949, beginning a romance between Britain's oldest Sunday paper and the country's most loved photographer that still flourishes. By 1980, she was renowned enough for the National Portrait Gallery to hold a one-person exhibition of her work and there have been no fewer than seven published collections of her photographs. This first ever collection of Bown's non-portraiture stretches back to her student days and includes many previously unpublished and some previously unseen images. It stands as a fascinating insight into Bown's development as an artist, and reveals a breadth to her talents that will surprise and energise all lovers of her work. The many set pieces, whose instinctive drama captures social history in the making, will appeal to the 'retrospective' market.