David Hamilton

David Hamilton – On the bicycle to freedom; love of luxury

David Hamilton was born on 15 April 1933 in London. His father left the family shortly after David’s birth, leaving the mother for a time as sole caregiver. His childhood was overshadowed by the Second World War, and like many other children, he was evacuated to England’s countryside to avoid the bombing. The freedom he experienced there had such an effect on the young David that it became a guiding principle for the rest of his life. Back in London, he cut the chords with his mother and her new husband and tried his hand with some success at dog racing, buying a top-quality racing bike with his winnings which had once belonged to the professional sportsman Apo Lazarides. He recognised an inclination towards luxury from early on and wore expensive clothes. On leaving school at 15 to take a carpentry apprenticeship with a department store fitter, he made such an impression there that he was soon promoted: in the planning office he was allowed to design facades for which he used specially produced photographs of other buildings as models. 

Creative work in the field of fashion; experiments as painter

David Hamilton enjoyed a certain reputation and income from early on that made possible the lifestyle he aspired to. He once declared in retrospect that he had led a privileged and enviable life. Hamilton first worked in the fashion world, living for a time in Paris and practicing alongside as a painter – in this he proved a great talent and exhibited at the Biennale with other up-and-coming artists. However, he soon realised that painting was not right for him and instead worked with great success as artistic director for the British magazine Queen. He earned so much there that he had his apartment furnished with designer furniture from Herman Miller and Mies van der Rohe. Following a rift with the publisher he was engaged as marketing head for the department store Printemps where he came into contact with great photographers such as Irving Penn and began to take photographs himself. He was soon only interested in his own work and was seen by his colleagues as increasingly arrogant and elitist.

Breakthrough as nude photographer; increasing dispute over his rating

David Hamilton discovered his aesthetic fascination for the human body on the nude beaches of St. Tropez and focused his photographic activity from the beginning on young women. His characteristic style soon formed which relied heavily on soft focus and thus brought the photography close to painting. He initially celebrated much international success with his young, often barely pubescent girls: everyone wanted to see his pictures and his self-directed erotic film Bliltis was a box-office hit. Further films and photo books followed but critical voices increased in later years accusing Hamilton of nearing pornography and paedophilia. The increasingly fierce opposition to Hamilton’s romantically veiled Lolita poses finally blew up when the French television presenter Flavie Flament declared that Hamilton had sexually assaulted her as a 13-year-old in November 2016. The artist denied all accusations and announced legal action. However, things turned out differently. 

David Hamilton died on 25 November 2016 in Paris. The cause of death – he was found with a plastic bag over his head and traces indicated alcohol and drug consumption – suggested suicide.