Terence Donovan (photographer)

Terence Donovan
Born	14 September 1936(1936-09-14) Stepney, East London, United Kingdom
Died	22 November 1996(1996-11-22) (aged 60)
Nationality	British
Occupation	Photographer and film director
Children	Terry Donovan, Daisy Donovan, Dan Donovan

Plaque outside Terence Donovan's former studios.

Terence Daniel Donovan (14 September 1936 – 22 November 1996) was a British photographer and film director, best remembered for his fashion photography of the 1960s. He oversaw the music video to Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible".

Donovan was born in Stepney in the East End of London to Lilian Constance V. (née Wright) and Daniel Donovan,^{[citation needed]} and took his first photo at the age of 15. From age 11 to 15 he studied at the London County Council School of Photoengraving and Lithography. The bomb damaged industrial landscape of his home town became the backdrop of much of his fashion photography, and he set the trend for positioning fashion models in stark and gritty urban environments. Flats and gasometers were popular settings, and he often had the models adopt adventurous poses. He wedged one model up the side of a building, and photographed another as she posed dangling from a parachute.

Along with David Bailey and Brian Duffy, he captured, and in many ways helped create the Swinging London of the 1960s: a culture of high fashion and celebrity chic. The trio of photographers socialised with actors, musicians and royalty, and found themselves elevated to celebrity status. Together, they were the first real celebrity photographers.

Donovan shot for various fashion magazines, including Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, as well as directing some 3000 commercials, and a 1973 movie Yellow Dog. He also made documentaries and music videos, and painted.

Donovan was a black belt in judo and co-wrote a popular judo book Fighting Judo with former World Judo Gold medallist Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki.

Donovan committed suicide, after suffering from depression. His last interview appeared in a British photography magazine a few weeks after his death.

Donovan was married twice. His first marriage to Janet Cohen was short lived and he remained married to his second wife Diana Dare until his death. He was the father of founder of Rockstar Games Terry Donovan, musician Dan Donovan (of Big Audio Dynamite) and television presenter Daisy Donovan.^{[citation needed]}

Further reading

• Milner, Catherine (1996-11-24). "Donovan, the 'click that launched a thousand faces', commits suicide". London: Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1996/11/24/ndona24.html. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
• Aidin, Rose (1999-03-15). "Telling it how it really was". G2 (London: The Guardian). http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,314505,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
• Vincent, Sally (2000-09-16). "Against the grain". Weekend (London: The Guardian). http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,368805,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
• "Photography's impact on the 60s". BBC. 2002-08-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2178366.stm. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
• Andrew, Billen (2002-08-19). "Snap judgement". New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/200208190025. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
• Purnell, Sonia (2003-09-10). "Portrait of an artist's studio". London: Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2003/09/10/pdo10.xml&sSheet=/property/2003/09/10/ixpmain01.html. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
• Barrell, Tony (2007-09-09). "Glamorous liaisons". Visual Arts (London: The Times). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article2393093.ece. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 

References

• Terence Donovan (1936–1996)

External links

• Terence Donovan Archive