Exhibition: Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection

Showcasing over 300 rare prints from 140 photographers, this exhibition is a major presentation of twentieth and twenty-first century photography on loan from the private collection of Sir Elton John and David Furnish.

Selected from their collection of over 7,000 images, the exhibited photographs (many of which will be on public display for the first time and some in the collection’s bespoke frames) are era-defining images which explore the connection between strength and vulnerability inherent in the human condition. Whilst universally compelling, the images are intensely personal for John and Furnish, as they are the photographs they live with at their home.

This exhibition will cover the period from 1950 to the present day, including a monumental installation of 149 Nan Goldin prints from her Thanksgiving series. It will bring together an unrivalled selection of the world’s leading photographers to tell the story of modern and contemporary photography, and will include celebrated works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, Zanele Muholi, Ai Weiwei, Carrie Mae Weems and others.

Brand new acquisitions will also go on display by Tyler Mitchell, Trevor Paglen and An-My Lê. These will join some of the very first acquisitions made by John, fashion photographs by Horst P. Horst, Irving Penn and Herb Ritts.

Header image: Elton John: Egg On His Face, New York, David LaChapelle, 1999. (c) David LaChapelle