Neil Libbert, Lebrecht Music & Arts photographer, who is well known for his outstanding photographic work with the major British newspapers such as the Guardian, Observer and Sunday Times has an exhibition opening at the National Portrait Gallery in London entitled ‘Photojournalist’. The exhibition opens on 17 September.

His work captured many of today’s leading arts personalities at the start pf their careers in the nineteen fifties and sixties. Helen Mirren as a young stage actress in 1969.

This photo accompanied a newspaper article proifling Helen Mirren as she played Cressida in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of ‘Troilus and Cressida;. The shoot took place inside her flat. In an interview with ‘The New York Times’ 35 years later she revealed just how seriously she took that part. Asked to reflect on bad reviews, she recalled, “I received an awful dart for …’Troilus and Cressida’. I remember the reveiwer, Benedict Nightingale. I’ll never forget him. (He’s) still out there, the bastard.”

Here is Harold Pinter 1963 aged 33 the year before he wrote ‘The Homecoming’. ‘The Birthday Party’ written in 1957 had already established his reputation as a truly gifted playwright.

Neil Libbert also has a great eye for contrast and glamour in this shot of Jayne Mansfield in Blackpool, 7 September 1959 with union leaders Ted Hill, Bill Carron of the A.E.U and Morgan Phillips, general secretary of the Labour party on opening day of TUC. This followed Mansfield ‘s lighting of the Blackpool Illuminations the day before.

We all wish him much success with this exhibition.