Famed celebrity photographer Ron Galella announces the publication of his 22nd book, 100 ICONIC PHOTOGRAPHS: A Retrospective by Ron Galella.
This 160-page hardcover volume includes eighty-seven black & white and thirteen color photographs of Ron’s most iconic images, gloriously reproduced for the first time in one volume. Some rarely seen, culled from his unprecedented archive.
The book features behind-the-scenes, never before revealed stories of some of his most famous images, including a touching passage by May Pang recollecting the night the cover photo of John Lennon and Mick Jagger, (with Ms. Pang) was taken.
‘”With all that Hollywood royalty, why would anyone take pictures of me,”‘ Pang recalls a surprised Lennon saying.
The image may also be the last professional photograph taken of the two music icons before Lennon’s tragic death.
His nearly six-decade career spans generations, ushering out the old Hollywood studio guard system including Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, Liz Taylor, Bridget Bardot, Sophia Loren and transitions to the rough and tumble mavericks of the 60s and 70’s-Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
Criss-crossing between the East and West coasts, with numerous stops around the world in-between, Ron amassed millions of photographs of every conceivable type of celebrity – film, television, music, supermodels, athletes, politicians, business moguls, artists, and innovators.
They’re all here: Elvis, Princess Diana, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Jackie Onassis, Muhammad Ali with Joe Lewis, Sammy Davis and Jerry Lewis, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Simon & Garfunkel, a 5-year-old Angelina Jolie clinging to her father Jon Voight’s leg, all caught candidly in Ron’s unique, spontaneous, off-guard style – the paparazzi approach. Many are exclusive.
Ron’s passion for photography and his connection to his subjects created an intimacy resulting in a body of work that is unmatched, establishing a unique niche in entertainment photojournalism.
“A truly iconic photograph is timeless – something that is valued, honored and treasured long after the photo was taken,” Ron writes in the book’s introduction.
Dubbed “Paparazzo extraordinaire” by Newsweek, Ron’s work has stood the test of time. Today his photos continue to be regularly published and broadcast globally on news programs, magazines, books and in documentaries.
His much sought after signed, fine-art prints are collected in museums and private collections worldwide. Not bad for an Italian American kid from a working-class family raised in the Bronx!
His two most popular images – Windblown Jackie and the Lennon and Jagger photo gracing the book’s cover have one thing in common: neither of the subjects knew they were being photographed.
They are, according to Ron’s manifesto, the perfect Galella photographs, iconic people caught unrehearsed, spontaneous in his inimitable style.
In 2016 Time Magazine proclaimed Windblown Jackie, “one of the most influential photos of all time.”
Galella, an U.S Air Force veteran, celebrated his 90th birthday in January 2021.
The book includes a foreword written by Bob Ahern, Director of Getty Images Archive Photography, and contemporary photography by Geoffrey Croft.
Published in Italy by Sime s.r.l. Books, Printer Trento s.r.l. on Ultramatt Garda 170 gr paper, this retrospective is a cornerstone of Galella’s bibliography and will be an impressive addition to every pop culture enthusiast and photography lover’s bookshelf!
Available Now: 100 ICONIC PHOTOGRAPHS: A Retrospective by Ron Galella. (ISBN 9781737810216) Available on Amazon.com and rongalella.com and at independent book stores. European distribution by: SIME BOOKS s.r.l., Conegliano, Italy, via simebooks.com.
