Jane Bown

Born in 1925, Bown worked as a chart corrector in the Wrens, 1944-46. She was a student photographer at Guildford School of Art, 1946-50. Bown started her photographic career in 1949 when her portrait of Bertrand Russell appeared in The Observer. Bown is admired for her straightforward, naturally posed, black and white portraits, usually taken with available light. Her published books include The Gentle Eye (1980) which was accompanied by a major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 1980-81, Women of Consequence (1986), Men of Consequence (1987) and Faces (2000). In 1995 Bown was awarded a CBE for her outstanding contribution to photography.