Norman Parkinson (born Ronald William Parkinson Smith) was a celebrated English portrait and fashion photographer who became one of the most influential figures in 20th-century photography. Born in London in 1913, he began his career as an apprentice to court photographers Speaight and Sons Ltd in 1931. By 1934, he opened his own studio with Norman Kibblewhite (merging names to become Norman Parkinson). He was renowned for revolutionizing fashion photography by moving away from stiff formality toward a style of 'easy and casual elegance' that emphasized storytelling and narrative. Throughout his career, he captured iconic images of celebrities, royalty, and high-fashion models for publications like Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Town & Country. He was appointed CBE in 1981 and died while on location in Singapore in 1990.[1,2,3,4,6,7,8]
