A man of grace and beauty

Mention Edward Quinn’s name today in photography circles and you will get puzzled looks. Partly that’s because he was a quintessentially European photographer, meaning that maybe the US saw less of his work. Part is that his work is just too refined to appeal to modern tastes.

Grace Kelly by Edward Quinn

Yet Quinn (1920 – 1997) was the first among those who plied their trade on the Côte d’Azur, where his subjects were the rich and famous, much of his work gracing the pages of Paris Match or Life magazines.

I first came across his work in the English Edition of Leica Fotografie issue 4/1966 (I was published there in 1974, by the way, back when I cared about such things). His picture shows a rather formal, slightly over-dressed tweedy individual, holding an M3 with the 35mm Summaron I knew and loved so well. He looks to have come from central casting for a movie on the British Raj. While his subjects are invariably famous they are clearly at ease with this ‘Master of the Leica’ as LF styled him.

Take a look at his web site which, while a bit of a mess organizationally, shows his work well.

His book Riviera Cocktail is available from Amazon. Sadly the text seems to be in German, but the pictures are timeless.