John cowan photographer biography examples

John Cowan was a leading fashion photographer during the 1960s. His photographs epitomised the playful, graphically dynamic style of commercial photography practised in London during the period.

In 1962 he met the model Jill Kennington, sparking an exciting period of high-octane image-making for numerous magazines and newspapers.

This image comes from a series taken for Queen magazine in which Kennington poses against a backdrop of historical sculpture.

Wearing a lamb jacket and hat by Maxwell Croft, she stands beside the statue of the Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott, in Waterloo Place. Her defiant stance seems to challenge the traditional, establishment attitudes that can be seen in much public sculpture, reflecting other social upheavals during the decade.

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