Annie Leibovitz is one of the most well-known and admired photographers on the planet, famous for her revealing and intimate portraits cultural figures. She is known for shooting countless covers for Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Vogue, and in 1991 she become the second living artist and first woman to mount a show at the National Portrait Gallery.
Leibovitz originally intended to teach art for a living, and studied painting at the San Francisco Art Institute. But after attending a photography workshop, she realised the potential of the medium, and changed her major. In 1970, she began work as a staff photographer for American pop culture magazine Rolling Stone, and within three years she had become the publication’s chief photographer, a position she held for a decade.
Throughout her career, Leibovitz has captured many iconic and historic images, many of which have spawned imitations and homages or sparked important cultural conversations. These include a John Lennon and Yoko Ono cover for Rolling Stone in 1981 taken just five hours before Lennon was murdered; a 1991 cover of Vanity Fair featuring a naked and pregnant Demi Moore; Caitlin Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover of 2015; and two portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. She has released several highly lauded books of photographs, and was principal photographer of the 2016 Pirelli calendar which made headlines with its shift in focus to the accomplishments and strength of its notable female models. With five decades shooting the world’s great and good, Leibovitz’s catalogue is unparalleled, and she has exhibited worldwide including in New York, London, Moscow and Hong Kong. She has been awarded the Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society, received the Laez Medal of Art from the Venezuelan American Endowment for the Arts, and the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication.
