Celebrity Portrait by Hugh Stewart

The iconic photographs of Hugh Stewart will be on show at The Gallery throughout November, offering the public the chance to view rare portraits of famous subjects such as Geoffrey Rush, Michael Caine, Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Nicole Kidman.

Celebrating professional photography, Stewart’s Celebrity Portrait series is the first monthly exhibition to be housed at The Gallery - an exclusive partnership between Canon Australia and Hyatt Regency Sydney from now until June 2018.

Winnie Harlow. © Hugh Stewart.
Winnie Harlow. © Hugh Stewart.

Other Canon photographers who will take up residence include Sean Scott (ocean landscape), Jarrad Seng (music and travel), Cybele Malinowski (fashion and music), Krystle Wright (adventure sports), Michelle Aboud (editorial, advertising and portraiture), and Simon Harsent (fine art and advertising).

Located within a stunning heritage space at Hyatt Regency Sydney, The Galleryis open to the public weekdays from 6:30am to 4pm. Entry is free, with a portion of the proceeds from print sales going to charity.

Bill Nighy. © Hugh Stewart.
Bill Nighy. © Hugh Stewart.

About Hugh Stewart

Hugh Stewart was born in New Zealand and grew up on a farm. He displayed no interest in farming, and fairly smartly left for Europe. It was while residing in a notorious London squat in the early 1980s that he picked up a camera and started taking portraits of his friends. He returned, via a stint New York, to the Southern Hemisphere. Without motivation to work on the farm, he headed for Sydney. It was here, faced with the prospect of actually having to work, he put together a portfolio and received his first assignment, (for Australian Vogue). This led to further commissions for magazines and advertising agencies. Encouraged, he returned to London and New York where he lived until 2006.

Geoffrey Rush. © Hugh Stewart.
Geoffrey Rush. © Hugh Stewart.

He has photographed, amongst others, Johnny Cash, Michael Caine, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Paul Newman, Ed Harris, Kenneth Branagh, Naomi Watts, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Catherine Deneuve, Clint Eastwood, Harvey Weinstein, Rod Stewart, Sir John Mills, Sir Ian McKellen, Leonardo Dicaprio, Bill Nighy, Geoffrey Rush, Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, The Duchess of Devonshire, and five Australian Prime Ministers. His photographs have been hung in the National Portrait Gallery in London and in Canberra.

More recently he has been directing TV commercials and short Internet content pieces.

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November

Sydney: The exhibition delves into the State Library of NSW's vast collection of two million images, showcasing 400 photos – many displayed for the first time.

February

Ballarat: Scotty So is a Melbourne-based artist who works across media, using painting, photography, sculptures, site-responsive installation, videos and drag performance.

Melbourne: Jill Orr’s The Promised Land Refigured is an exhibition that reworks the original project created in 2012 with new insights that have emerged in the past eleven years.

March

Ballarat: Nan Goldin is an American artist whose work explores subcultures, moments of intimacy, the impacts of the HIV/AIDS and opioid epidemics on her communities, and photography as a tool for social activism.

Sydney: The Ocean Photographer of the Year Award, run by London based Oceanographic Magazine is in its 4th year and has quickly achieved recognition amongst photographers around the world.

Albury: The National Photography Prize offers a $30,000 acquisitive prize, the $5000 John and Margaret Baker Fellowship for an emerging practitioner, and further supports a number of artists through focused acquisitions.