Collection: Duffy

"The thing about the photographs is that there is no smell or sound and in a sense it tells the truth and yet it is a lie." -- Duffy (1933-2010)

At Brian Duffy’s memorial service, Lord Puttnam addressed the family and friends of Duffy (the mononym for which he is known) and said, The world needs more Duffy’s. He then went on to call him a maverick, somebody who was prepared to take risks with his art form, and described Duffy as a supremely talented and esoteric man, a man who thrived on risks and challenges, who lived to create.

In 2013, Duffy was voted as one of the 100 top most influential photographers of all time and he richly deserves that title. When Duffy felt he had pushed the boundaries as far as he could and was no longer satisfied with stills photography, he abruptly shut his studio, attempted to burn all of his negatives, and moved onto commercials. Despite repeated requests to return to still photography, give interviews, or discuss his career, he became reclusive and his remaining negatives would have stayed in boxes under the stairs had it not been for the persistence of his eldest son Chris. Chris realized that Duffy’s name was slowly slipping into obscurity and regularly tried to persuade him to do something with his remaining archive. It wasn’t until 2006 when Duffy was diagnosed with the degenerative lung disease pulmonary fibrosis that he finally gave Chris the green light to start putting the archive together. Now, since achieving numerous museum and gallery exhibitions around the world, a documentary about his life and several books have been released, Duffy’s work is recognized today by an international audience and fine art buyers.