Douglas Kirkland

Douglas Kirkland Synopsis

Douglas Kirkland is the legendary photographer who captured the Hollywood elite. Kirkland has been at the cutting edge of fashion, photojournalism and portraiture, working for the world's most reputable magazines for more than 50 years. As a young photographer in 1961 he was assigned to shoot Marilyn Monroe over several hours in a closed studio one night, and he captured a stunning portfolio of alluring and intimate images that survive to this day as a testament to her beauty and vulnerability.

Kirkland was born in Toronto, Canada and started out as an assistant to Irving Penn when he first moved to New York at the age of 24. After an early stint working for Look Magazine, he joined Life Magazine as a staff photographer. He worked there in the '60s and '70s - an era often referred to as the golden age of photojournalism.

Known for his charming and gentle attitude, Kirkland has served as the only photographer on the sets of hundreds of films, from The Sound of Music to Titanic. His extensive archive of A-list portraits includes Elizabeth Taylor, Coco Chanel, Jack Nicholson, John Travolta, Michael Jackson, Brigitte Bardot, Andy Warhol, Naomi Campbell and Nicole Kidman. Text in English and Italian.