Cambridge Jones

Cambridge Jones is a British celebrity portrait photographer, and more recently a film and television producer, from Wales. His subjects, in a series of books and exhibitions, include eight British Prime Ministers, Queen Elizabeth II, and King Charles III, as well as hundreds of well-known actors and musicians.

Cambridge Jones
Born
Oxford, U.K.
EducationChrist Church, Oxford University
Occupations
  • photographer
  • actor
  • producer
Websitecambridgejones.com

Early and personal life

Jones was adopted at the age of two[1] by his aunt and uncle after his parents' divorce. He grew up in Machynlleth, Wales. He has described his first few years as "traumatic".[2]

Career

Several of his books and exhibitions have involved musical themes. His first major exhibition, Face The Music (2004),[3] at The Proud Galleries in London, featured pictures of 120 well-known faces who chose and commented on a favourite piece of music. It was widely covered by the media and effectively launched his career.

Jones has photographed eight British prime ministers: Sir Edward Heath, Baroness Thatcher, Sir John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson; as well as royals Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III (then Prince Charles). He has also done a body of work commissioned by Prince Harry.

In 2004 he was commissioned to create a body of work published as a book, Off Stage: 100 Portraits Celebrating the RADA Centenary, to celebrate 100 years of RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). The photographs include John Hurt, Alan Rickman, Sheila Hancock, Edward Woodward, Sir Ian Holm, Robert Lindsay, Joan Collins, Tom Courtenay, Warren Mitchell, Imelda Staunton, June Whitfield, Richard Briers, Jane Horrocks, Glenda Jackson, Juliet Stevenson, Jonathan Pryce, Kenneth Branagh, Ioan Gruffud, Susannah York, Timothy Spall, Liza Tarbuck, and Michael Kitchen.[4][5]

In 2014, for the exhibition 26 Characters at The Story Museum (at the Story Museum in Oxford), Cambridge photographed 26 authors (one for each letter of the alphabet), including Philip Pullmann, dressed as their favourite book characters. He also interviewed them.[6][7]

Other notable commissions include a book for The Prince's Trust entitled Inspired By Music (sponsored by Starbucks and on sale in every Starbucks Coffee store), a personal request for a portrait in a letter from Nelson Mandela, an exhibition for the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and a book on his old Oxford college Christ Church, Oxford.

Recognition

His work has been likened to that of famous American portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz.[8][9]

In 2014 he was selected as the BBC's artist in residence and was invited by the BBC to talk on several shows.[7]

Other activities

Due to his own tough start in life, Jones has chosen to work with children in many guises. In 2009 he was made an ambassador to The Prince's Trust, and has worked regularly with Barnardo's. In 2008[10] he photographed a number of children for Barnardo's child adoption agency, in an exhibition called "Home Time", aimed at helping to find homes for hundreds of children waiting for adoption. The exhibition was held at the Getty Images Gallery in London.[1]

He was asked to travel to Lesotho for Prince Harry to produce a body of work illustrating the work Prince Harry's Sentebale charity does with HIV+ kids in Lesotho. The work was exhibited and introduced by Prince Harry as a fundraising event for Sentebale.

Exhibitions

Talking Pictures

Talking Pictures toured the world from 2010. It featured famous people of Welsh descent, including Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Rhys, Michael Sheen, Sian Phillips, Eddie Izzard, Rhys Ifans, Jonathan Pryce, Terry Jones, Damien Lewis, Helen McCrory, Robert Plant, Owen Sheers, Bonnie Tyler, Shirley Bassey, Emma Griffiths, David Gray, and Bryn Terfel.[9] The exhibition locations included the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff;[11] Canary Wharf lobby, London (16 September-1 October 2010);[12] New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in the Lincoln Center (23 September – 27 November 2010); Chateau Marmont (early 2011); and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (March 2011).[9][8][13] It was also organised by the Welsh Assembly Government to show at the British Embassy in Washington, DC; in Doha, Qatar; the British Consulate in New York; and at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Chicago. The exhibition was mounted at Canolfan Y Celfyddydau in Aberystwyth from 2 February 2013 to 13 March 2013 by the Welsh Assembly.[14]

Other exhibitions

His work has been exhibited in galleries around the world, including:

  • London - The Proud Galleries (Face The Music, 2004) [3]
  • Bologna, Italy – Portraits of Jack White and the The White Stripes[15][7]
  • London – The Mall Galleries ‘Face Time’ with The Art Room 2014 (Bill Nighy)[16]
  • London – Mayor of London Buildings (Environmental Portraits for Boris Johnson)[17]
  • Oxford – 26 Characters at The Story Museum (2014)[18][6][7]
  • London – BAFTA portraits (Portraits from the RADA Centenary Collection used in BAFTA Awards)
  • Moscow – Red Square State Museum (House of Photography) (Royal Power, Politics & Hollywood by Cambridge Jones)[19]
  • London – Saatchi Gallery (Katherine Jenkins Portrait for Great Ormond Street) (Organised by GOSH)
  • London – Getty Images Gallery (The RADA Centenary Portraits)[20]
  • Brighton – Persona at the Theatre Royal (Persona Portraits)[21]
  • Nashville – Country Music Hall of Fame (Country Couture Exhibition from The Manuel Series)[22]
  • Nashville – Tinney Contemporary Gallery (The Image Makers : Manuel & Cambridge)[23]

Books
  • Off Stage: 100 Portraits Celebrating the RADA Centenary, 2005 (ISBN 095468432X) with a foreword by Sir Richard Attenborough[4]
  • Christ Church – A Portrait of The House, 2007 (ISBN 1903942462)
  • Inspired By Music (for the Prince's Trust), 2009 (ISBN 1907149015)
  • Face The Music Printed by The Proud Gallery as a one-off catalogue
  • 26 Characters (ISBN 978-0-9569918-1-2)
  • Super Power Agency (ISBN 9 781838 256807)
  • Fashion & Style in Photography Moscow House of Photography 2011 (ISBN 978-5-93977-062-0)

DVD
  • Cambridge Jones Showreel[24]
  • A Wider Sky (2005): Collaboration with composer Adrian Munsey & Cambridge Jones using photography & music

References
  1. "Photographs for Charity by Cambridge Jones at Getty Images Gallery in London". Artdaily. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  2. Jones, Cambridge (1 December 2013). "A Chat with World Famous British Celebrity Photographer, Cambridge Jones". NewsBlaze (Interview). Interviewed by Dickson, Russell W. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  3. "Pictures and Photos - Getty Images". www.gettyimages.co.uk.
  4. "Off Stage: 100 Portraits Celebrating the RADA Centenary, by Cambridge Jones [blurb]". LensCulture. Retrieved 19 May 2023. With a foreword by Lord Attenborough, the book includes an introduction by the Observer writer Miranda Sawyer, as well as interviews with all the actors.
  5. Jones, Cambridge (2005). Off stage : 100 portraits celebrating the RADA centenary. Retrieved 19 May 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  6. Jones, Cambridge (6 March 2014). "Character reference - Interview with photographer Cambridge Jones". Oxford Mail (Interview). Interviewed by MacAlister, Katherine. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  7. BBC Radio 2 1 of 3 on YouTube 23 June 2014. "Cambridge Jones as BBC Radio2 Artist In Residence (1 of 3 progs) talking about his latest book & 3 current exhibitions: The Story Museum in Oxford, The Art Room in The Mall Galleries, London, and Jack White exhibition in Bologna, Italy."
  8. Jones, Cambridge. "Celebrity Portraits From Britain's Answer to Annie Leibovitz on Exhibit at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park March 3 - April 24, 2011". PR Newswire.
  9. Blank, Matthew (22 September 2010). "Photo call: Jonathan Pryce, Michael Sheen, Eddie Izzard, Anthony Hopkins Featured in Cambridge Jones Photo Exhibit in NYC". Playbill. Retrieved 19 May 2023. Cambridge Jones' "Talking Pictures" appears at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts through Nov. 27. The exhibit will launch in early 2011 at the Chateau Marmont before moving to The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery March 3.
  10. "Barnardos – Jack Davenport". Jack Davenport - Unofficial Website: NEWS. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  11. "Talking Pictures by Cambridge Jones". BBC Wales.
  12. "Cambridge Jones: Talking Pictures". New Exhibitions. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  13. "Wales is where the heart is - Soundcheck". WNYC Studios. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2023. Talking Pictures: Portraits, by Cambridge Jones, opens at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Plaza LeveOLobby at Lincoln Center on Thursday, September 23
  14. "Cambridge Jones: Talking Pictures". Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
  15. "Jack White / White Stripes: American Roots". Arte.
  16. "Face Time". Meer. 6 June 2014.
  17. London SE1 website team (9 February 2010). "Boris Johnson opens climate change City Hall photo exhibition". London SE1. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  18. "Authors dress up as their favourite characters". BBC. 29 June 2014.
  19. "Fashion and Style in Photography Festival Kicks off in Moscow". Haute Living. 16 March 2011.
  20. "Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art Centenary Portraits Photos and Premium High Res Pictures – Getty Images". www.gettyimages.co.uk.
  21. "PHILIPPA STANTON – 64 SANDGATE". Archived from the original on 8 May 2023.
  22. Sound, That Nashville (31 March 2009). "That Nashville Sound: Country Music Hall Of Fame Readies New Exhibit".
  23. Hines, Emily Bartlett (30 October 2008). "Cambridge Jones' The Image Makers at Tinney Contemporary". Nashville Scene.
  24. Cambridge Jones – Show reel
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