You’ve been framed!
Top snapper Harry Benson’s portrait of Presiding Officer
A PORTRAIT taken by Harry Benson of the now retired Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Ken Macintosh, is on display in the Scottish Parliament.
Glasgow-born Benson has photographed every Presiding Officer of the Parliament and the new portrait has taken up position beside the images of the four others who have held the role since 1999.
The Rt Hon Ken Macintosh said: “Harry Benson has the incredible skill of being able to tell a story through a single image, a talent for which he has been internationally recognised. I am truly honoured to be the subject of one of his parliamentary portraits and to be represented here alongside the four colleagues who have held this unique position since 1999.
“For the past five years it has been my great privilege to lead the Scottish Parliament. Despite the difficulties that we have all faced, particularly over the last year,
I am immensely grateful to have been given that honour and I take with me a real sense of pride in how the Parliament has risen to every challenge.”
Harry Benson captured the image of the Presiding Officer during a visit to Scotland in 2018. Benson’s career spans more than 60 years and he has captured many pivotal moments in world history. He has a long association with The Scottish Parliament and one of the biggest retrospectives of his work went on display at the Parliament in 2016.
Benson has taken photos of US presidents since Dwight D. Eisenhower, and was standing next to Bobby Kennedy when he was shot in 1968. His official photographic portrait of The Queen commissioned by The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is on display there.