Out of Africa – from conserving elephants to shooting supermodels

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A master photographer's magical blend of ‘happenstance and technological achievement’

Peter Beard, by Steven Aronson, Owen Edwards and Neima Beard

Peter Beard was born in New York City in 1938. He began keeping a diary and taking photographs in childhood and later in life incorporated both into his artistic works.  His interest in conservation was stimulated and motivated by two trips to Africa in 1955 and 1960.  After graduating from Yale University he worked at Kenya’s Tsavo National Park.  It was here that Beard witnessed the decimation of the elephant population, not by poachers but by starvation following a ban on hunting.  The natural habitat could not support the huge increase in elephant population after the ban, leading to the deaths of thousands of elephants and black rhinos.  Even though the authorities forbade photography, Beard recorded the tragedy and later published The End of the Game in 1965.

Beard’s work goes further than conservation.  His diaries feature beautiful calligraphy, recording his thoughts on issues of concern and supplemented with drawings and small objects such as feathers or leaves. They are works of art in themselves.  His photographs have undergone a similar treatment, being presented to us as a collage made up of many photographic prints, magazine cuttings, advertising ephemera, pieces of bone and even his own blood.  He is making a statement with his work, but it is presented in a unique way that almost defies an artistic ‘label’.

Beard’s circle of friends and acquaintances include musicians and artists such as David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol.  He photographed the artist Francis Bacon and, in return, was the model for several of Bacon’s paintings.  He is also well known as a fashion and beauty photographer.  He has worked for Vogue, taking the then well-known supermodel Veruschka von Lehndorff to Africa for a photo shoot.  He also talent-scouted the then unknown and soon-to-be-supermodel Iman while she was studying at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.  For the last 50 years the Pirelli Tyre Company has commissioned the best photographers to shoot a limited edition calendar featuring top models and exotic locations.  Peter Beard was chosen to photograph one of the famous series of calendars for Pirelli in 2009, visiting the Okavango Delta in Botswana as the location for many of the images. 

The publication Peter Beard is divided into two main sections covering the diaries and photo-collages, which are reproduced in either full-page or double-page-spread format in stunning detail.  An index to the pictures gives an insight into the thoughts, efforts and inspiration behind them, but this is tantalizing owing to its brevity.  Additional chapters include ‘In Conversation’, the transcript of an interview with Steven Aronson; ‘A Skorpios Memory’, which is a holiday photo-essay of a vacation to the island once owned by Aristotle Onassis, with Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, her children and Aristotle.  The most insightful chapter is ‘From Biology to Photography’, a handwritten essay by Beard, in which he outlines his photography philosophy and summarizes it as a mixture of ‘happenstance and technological achievement’ – a blend of luck with a Nikon or a Leica camera. 

This is the most lavish and comprehensive publication covering the work of this photographer, artist and conservationist published to date.  With well over 700 illustrated pages and a generous format of 25.4 x 30.5cm, it is likely to stand as a definitive catalogue of his work for several years to come.

Peter Beard by Steven Aronson, Owen Edwards and Neima Beard is published by TASCHEN  GmbH, 2013. 706pp. 468 colour/39 mono illus, £44.99. ISBN 3836530880