30 November 2012

'Selling dreams - a century of image making'

Lunchtime talk and evening lecture, Thursday December 6th

Susanna Brown, Curator of Photographs at the Victoria & Albert Museum, will explore the varied approaches to fashion photography over the past 100 years at two events in Dundee next week.

The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum is currently hosting 'Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography', the second in a series of exhibitions leading up to the opening of V&A at Dundee.

The exhibition features work by giants of twentieth century photography including Edward Steichen, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and David Bailey, alongside contemporary images by Corinne Day, Rankin, Tim Walker and Steven Meisel.

Susanna will be at the gallery to give a lunchtime talk on Thursday December 6th, from 1pm to 1.30pm. Admission is free but places are limited, and booking through McManus Reception is essential - contact 01382 307200. This talk may not be suitable for children under 14.

On Thursday evening Susanna will then give a public lecture at the University of Dundee. Susanna will talk in-depth about the first touring exhibition from the V&A Collection to explore the work of international fashion photographers. She will explore a century of spectacular fashion imagery by leading practitioners - including Baron de Meyer's glittering belle époque studies, Irving Penn's refined studio shots, David Bailey's '60s sirens and Tim Walker's lavish contemporary creations - as well as lesser-known treasures from the V&A's magnificent collection of photographs.

The lecture takes place in the Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, at 6pm on Thursday December 6th. Free tickets for this event are available from: events@dundee.ac.uk and www.dundee.ac.uk/tickets, in person from Tower Building Reception at the University, or by calling 01382 385564 / 385108.

'Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography' is at The McManus until January 6th.

Notes to editors

Susanna Brown is available for interview.

The V&A is the world's leading museum of art and design with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. It was established to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&A's collections, which span over 2000 years of human creativity in virtually every medium and from many parts of the world, continue to intrigue, inspire and inform. The V&A has the oldest museum collection of photographs and the UK's National Collection of the Art of Photography.

V&A at Dundee
The V&A at Dundee is being delivered by Design Dundee Ltd, a ground-breaking partnership between the Victoria and Albert Museum - the world's greatest museum of art and design - and Dundee City Council, the Universities of Dundee and Abertay Dundee, and Scottish Enterprise.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded it a first round pass* of up to £9.2m, including £200,000 development funding, in May 2102. The Scottish Government has committed £15m in capital towards the project's £45million budget. www.vandaatdundee.com.

The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum is operated by Leisure & Culture Dundee, working in partnership with Dundee City Council. www.mcmanus.co.uk.

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University of Dundee
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