THE BIGGER PICTURE

HARRY BENSON PICKS FIVE OF HIS PHOTOGRAPHS THAT MEAN THE MOST TO HIM

2016-08-06 -

FOR Harry Benson, it is simple. “I take a picture and it’s either a good one or it’s a bad one,” he has said. “I like it or I don’t like it.” It’s an unadorned philosophy that has stood Benson in good stead for several decades. As one of the world’s most prominent photographers he has focused his lens on presidents, celebrities and newsmakers – almost too many to count.

The resulting photographs have frequently been unforgettable: think of his photograph of Ronald and Nancy Reagan dancing, or of the late Muhammad Ali clowning with The Beatles, or of Dolly Parton in stunning silhouette. Or the shot of Richard Nixon announcing his resignation in August 1974, watched by his immediate family, concern etched on their faces.

Now Glasgow-born Benson is coming home. An exhibition of some of his American photographs is set to go on display at the Scottish Parliament. Harry Benson: Seeing America will include some of his most iconic images capturing significant moments in America’s social, political and cultural history over the last 50 years.

He said: “May I say how proud I am to have an exhibition of my photographs at the Scottish Parliament, a true honour.”

A revealing documentary – Harry Benson: Shoot First – will be screened at 6pm at Edinburgh’s Film House Cinema next Friday (August 12) after the opening of the exhibition.

MIA FARROW AND FRANK SINATRA Plaza Hotel, New York City, 1966

IT was called “the party of the century.” Rumour has it that some people left town rather than say they weren’t invited. Truman Capote’s Black and White Masked Ball at the Plaza Hotel was ostensibly in honour of the detectives who broke the case of the terrible random murders in Kansas that Capote documented in his non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood. A rather odd way to celebrate, yet everyone who was anyone attended. Another version I was told is that the party was in honour of Truman’s dear friend Kay Graham, the powerful editor/owner of the Washington Post newspaper. It was the hardest ticket in the history of parties. You were not allowed in without a mask. Frank Sinatra, with his tough-guy image, must have felt rather silly coming up the stairs as a cat with actress wife Mia as a butterfly among the 400 at the Plaza.

ANNA FISHER HOUSTON Texas, 1982, cover

I PHOTOGRAPHED all of the first five extraordinary women chosen in January 1978 for the NASA astronaut corps at the LBJ Space Center in Houston. It was an unique assignment for me as these were the first women in the American space programme. Anna was married to fellow astronaut Bill Fisher at the time and was the mother of two children. She was mission specialist on STS-51A which launched on November 8, 1984 and was the first mother in space. She is now working in the capsule communicator and exploration branches of NASA.

DOLLY PARTON Nashville, Tennessee, 1980

I WAS on assignment to photograph the singer at her home in Nashville. She was getting ready for the photographs when I saw her standing by the window, putting on lipstick. I said, “Dolly, don’t move, just keep doing what you are doing.” And she obliged. Dolly was so energetic and so engaging that people were drawn to her.

BOBBY FISCHER Iceland 1972

SOME grandmasters say he was arguably the greatest chess player ever. A child prodigy and true eccentric, he would not speak to anyone during the historic match against Russian champion Boris Spassky, not even to his mother, who flew to Iceland to see him. Bobby was leery of everyone and was afraid the Russians were bugging his room, which in retrospect, they probably were. We got along, I think, because I knew nothing about chess and didn’t try to ask him about it. He was truly one of the only geniuses I have ever met. Since it was daylight in Iceland most of the night, we went to a field outside of Reykjavik to take some photographs. A herd of wild horses were nearby. One white horse came over slowly and touched Bobby’s face. It was incredible to see. Bobby said to me: “It really likes me, Harry, it really likes me.” He was as surprised as I was to see this happen. Bobby became more erratic in later life, but I found him to be incredibly interesting as a subject and as a person, and I liked him a lot.

HILLARY CLINTON Little Rock, Arkansas, 1992

TO me this photograph sums up Hillary’s career, as she has always keeps her cards close to her chest. The photograph was taken in the governor’s mansion in Arkansas after Bill had been elected president, but before they moved into the White House in Washington. Photographing the Clinton family over the years, I have always found them amenable and easy to work with. With her gruelling campaign schedule running up to the election in November, the polls fluctuate between Trump and Clinton as to who is winning and the race for the next American president is all people are talking about in America.