Andy Gotts

"The star-studded images are one thing, but their candid context is what makes them special." – Joy Ling, Esquire Singapore "...many famous names have stepped in front of his camera, captured quickly in his distinctive, clean style, with the images featuring in magazines and newspapers, galleries and exhibitions, and even earning him an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for services of his photography." – Chris Anderson, Air Magazine "Andy’s contact-sheets give us what feels like a VIP pass to spend time with his subjects. We see their beauty, their flaws, charisma, humanity and even a glimpse into their thoughts and process. We see the person in these people and are touched by their being." Kylie Minogue "Above all Andy Gotts allows his subjects to shine through, untouched." Alan Cumming " With this amazing book, you will see why Andy is as much a star as his subjects.” Gene Simmons A 90-second shoot with Stephen Fry in 1989 launched the career of Andy Gotts, photographer to the stars. Through grift and graft and raw, honed talent, Gotts has become one of the most in-demand celebrity photographers working the circuits of Hollywood, British media, and the music industry. Gotts’s dramatic black-and-white style turns faces into artworks of shadow and light, while his colour portraits capture his subjects’ ineffable humanity. For the first time Andy Gotts reveals the incredible depth of his archive, showing his most famous portraits and many rare images alongside. The book focuses on Andy’s contact sheets, which reveal the process behind capturing the perfect image. Accompanying texts from Andy shed light on his craft and delve into the stories behind these captivating photographs. This really is the definitive, career spanning book, produced to the highest standards. The book also contains personal testaments from a cross-section of the celebrities who Gotts has worked with: Alan Cumming, Gene Simmons, Ian McKellen, Jeff Bridges, Kylie Minogue, Michael Caine, Peter Capaldi and Simon Pegg.

Andy Gotts has spent the last ten years putting together this beautiful ICONS book. Filled with the most iconic faces from movies, cinema and fashion. This title is accompanied by the ICONS exhibition which will be featured in the world-renowned Maddox Galleries. “His forté is the absolutely direct black and white portrait, full-on, sometimes grainy and remorseless in the detailing of complexion, sometimes mischievously witty and unexpected, always completely unforgettable.” – Stephen Fry “Andy Gotts is a genius of his craft” – Tom Hanks In 1990 Andy Gotts, then a young photography student at Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, approached Stephen Fry at an event to ask him for a portrait. That brief meeting led to an even briefer photographic session (90 seconds), during which Andy realised he had discovered his photographic approach: “I cannot remember what I said to provoke the expressions and reactions I had in these 10 frames, but that was it… BOOM! … my eureka moment. It was like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders and I knew celebrity portraits were the way for me.” Andy’s unique portrait style – rapidly taken and often face-on – is admired for capturing the charisma of famed sitters such as Kylie Minogue, Meryl Streep, Harrison Ford and Kirk Douglas. Andy’s chatty, quick-fire approach led Paul Newman to nickname him ‘One Shot Gotts’. The photographs that Andy creates are naturalistic, eschewing the seductive technological traps of airbrushing and heavy styling. Andy Gotts was awarded an MBE in 2012 for his contribution to photography.