Clive Arrowsmith

“Clive could always come up with a psychedelic vision to suit the current mood of far-out fantasy in fashion. In one sitting, he was able to capture not only the romance of a Dior coat but the futurism of Pierre Cardin.” – Grace Coddington quoted from her book Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue.

“Clive Arrowsmith is the Caravaggio of the 21st century. He creates magic and dreams, he is the master of light.” – Marcella Martinelli, Fashion director.

“Clive is like the St. Francis of photography – he can charm the birds right out of the trees, but then tells better stories. His work combines not only a creative mind and technical excellence, but most importantly, a real connection with his subjects.” – Michael Daks, Professor of Photography at Paris College of Art & Istituto Marangoni, Paris.

“Clive Arrowsmith’s insightful portraits shimmer with artful lighting and technical mastery, reflecting his own deep humorous humanity.” – Nicholas Vreeland.

Clive Arrowsmith is a celebrated London-based international photographer. After leaving art school, where he studied painting and design, he began taking photographs whilst working as a graphic designer for television. Leaving television to work as a photographer, he soon gained commissions from leading fashion magazines, most notably, British and French Vogue, Harpers, The Sunday Times Colour Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire U.S.A., and F.T. “How to Spend It”.

Clive continues to work in this genre in both editorial and advertising photography and is equally known for his music and celebrity images: Paul McCartney, Wings, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, George Harrison, Daniel Barenboim, Anna Netrebko, Art Garfunkel, Def Leppard, Prince Charles, Michael Caine and Damien Hirst to name a few. Clive is also an accomplished landscape and still life photographer and is the only photographer to have shot the Pirelli Calendar two years in succession.

Having worked on many major stills advertising campaigns, such as De Beers, Revlon, G.H.D. Morello, Caroline Castigliano, Lexus, Hassleblad etc, Clive has continued to broaden his creative scope moving on to direct commercials for Heinz, Revlon, Hamlet Cigars (winner of The Silver Lion Cannes Film Festival), Rapeed Sunglasses, Greenmail Whitney Beer, music videos for artists like Lee Griffiths, Jamiroquai, Jools Holland, ZTT and Def Leppard, and album covers such as Wings’ ‘Band on the Run.’ This is the first book to celebrate his career.