Derry Moore (The Earl of Drogheda) became a professional photographer in 1970 having studied under the legendary Bill Brandt. His work has been influenced by his many trips to India. He has worked on many books including The Stately Homes of Britain and The Englishman’s Room. He is particularly well known for his portraits, and he has photographed amongst others the Princess of Wales, David Bowie, M.S. Subhalakshmi, Satyajit Ray & J. Krishnamurthy. He lives in London.
Moore's photographs capture the atmosphere of an India that had practically vanished by the late 1970: an India influenced by the British and in which the British were even more influenced by India. Above all it was an India still untouched by mass tourism.
Initially Derry Moore set out to photograph some of the princely palaces but he became increasingly fascinated by the lesser-known buildings (and those who inhabited them). These have gone unrecorded hitherto. In them he found eccentricity, originality and an extraordinary hybrid of Indian and British taste, all of which for the most part are lost to us today. In the people he met he encountered 'an atmosphere of another period' recorded with great sensitivity remote from what he calls the 'touristic' or the 'folkloric' |
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