Hamiltons is the sole representative for world-renowned American photographer Herb Ritts in the UK. These two exhibitions, 'Herb Ritts: Super' (25th November 2016 - 28th January 2017) and 'Herb Ritts: Super Part II' (30th January - 10th March 2017) celebrated the enduring legacy of Ritts’s photography and the gallery’s longstanding relationship with the Herb Ritts Foundation, with a selection of rare vintage gelatin silver prints of supermodels from the Foundation’s archive. Following the popularity of ‘Herb Ritts: Super’, Hamiltons showcased another selection of Ritts' supermodel prints in 'Herb Ritts: Super Part II'.
Natural light, shadows, shape, movement and texture permeate Ritts’s work. As is evident in the photographs in this exhibition, often unencumbered by studio walls and technicalities, Ritts was able to “give a truthful interpretation behind the surface and into the soul of the sitter”. Ritts never envisaged the final shot, preferring to find a rhythm together with his sitter as they worked; a method which created an opportunity for spontaneity and magic to happen between Ritts and his models. These photographs can be seen as a natural collaboration between photographer and subject, moving together to create the finished effect and allowing the model’s personality to come through. It is not surprising therefore that Ritts became such close friends with those he photographed. Referring to the pictures in this exhibition of herself on the beach for Playboy magazine, Stephanie Seymour said: “On the beach, Herb was incredible… the shoot that really stands out was the Playboy shoot. I almost didn’t go… I was nervous… but we had the best time, and the pictures were so incredible. Half the time when we worked with Herb, we wouldn’t even want to stop. Because once you get that rhythm going, you just don’t want to stop. You don’t want to break it.”
“The way Herb photographed you was the way you wanted the world to see you. Herb saw the best in everyone, so that’s how he photographed you… For a model it’s very unsatisfying to come in when the photographer’s already worked out the photo: Where’s me in this picture? I never felt like that with Herb. You definitely felt like you made a contribution.” Cindy Crawford
“Herb didn’t love when fashion got super complicated; it definitely was not his thing. So in those kind of situations he would use lighting and movement.” (Christy Turlington)
Herb Ritts, Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi (D), Hollywood, 1989 © Herb Ritts Foundation