The Many Faces of Barbara Ker-Seymer: British Modernist Photographer of the 1930s
Presentation Type
Event
Start Date
8-3-2026 10:50 AM
Description
This presentation provides an overview of the somewhat neglected photographic career of Barbara Ker-Seymer (1905-1993), a British Modernist photographer of the 1930s. Her unique portrait style, that mixed elements of Germany's New Objectivity movement with her own 'Relaxed' and gently-retouched aesthetic, managed to capture Britain’s intelligentsia and society classes at a time of flux, recording the many changing faces of Bright Young Things, London’s queer community, young Bloomsbury members and visiting New York Harlem Renaissance entertainers as the onset of World War II. approached. The presentation will trace in detail Ker-Seymer's career and practice as a photographer, highlighting her experimentation in portraiture at her first studio, based at 19 Kings Road, Chelsea, and her career progression to a larger commercial space at 15a Grafton Street, just off Old Bond Street, in 1932. It will highlight how at Grafton Street, she challenged the conventions of the time by dropping her Christian name from her business title, refusing to be known as a female photographer, supported other photographers in their business, and took on high street fashion shoots and editorial work for magazines such as Harpers Bazaar and Town & Country. This will be the first time Ker-Seymer’s photographic career and creativity have been specifically analysed in detail.
Clive Coward is a freelance Image Licensing & Picture Library Consultant, specialising in the promotion, licensing and management of image assets created by historical collections. Within his career he has worked with the collections of Bridgeman Images, Royal Geographical Society, Wellcome Trust, British Museum, and Tate. His personal interest in the history of photography has led him to research and edit works on historical photographers, and he is currently researching the photographic oeuvre of the London based portrait photographer Barbara Ker-Seymer.
Relational Format
Conference proceeding
Recommended Citation
Coward, Clive, "The Many Faces of Barbara Ker-Seymer: British Modernist Photographer of the 1930s" (2026). Women of Photography: A 24-Hour Conference-a-thon Celebrating International Women’s Day. 24.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/womenofphotography/2026/schedule/24
The Many Faces of Barbara Ker-Seymer: British Modernist Photographer of the 1930s
This presentation provides an overview of the somewhat neglected photographic career of Barbara Ker-Seymer (1905-1993), a British Modernist photographer of the 1930s. Her unique portrait style, that mixed elements of Germany's New Objectivity movement with her own 'Relaxed' and gently-retouched aesthetic, managed to capture Britain’s intelligentsia and society classes at a time of flux, recording the many changing faces of Bright Young Things, London’s queer community, young Bloomsbury members and visiting New York Harlem Renaissance entertainers as the onset of World War II. approached. The presentation will trace in detail Ker-Seymer's career and practice as a photographer, highlighting her experimentation in portraiture at her first studio, based at 19 Kings Road, Chelsea, and her career progression to a larger commercial space at 15a Grafton Street, just off Old Bond Street, in 1932. It will highlight how at Grafton Street, she challenged the conventions of the time by dropping her Christian name from her business title, refusing to be known as a female photographer, supported other photographers in their business, and took on high street fashion shoots and editorial work for magazines such as Harpers Bazaar and Town & Country. This will be the first time Ker-Seymer’s photographic career and creativity have been specifically analysed in detail.
Clive Coward is a freelance Image Licensing & Picture Library Consultant, specialising in the promotion, licensing and management of image assets created by historical collections. Within his career he has worked with the collections of Bridgeman Images, Royal Geographical Society, Wellcome Trust, British Museum, and Tate. His personal interest in the history of photography has led him to research and edit works on historical photographers, and he is currently researching the photographic oeuvre of the London based portrait photographer Barbara Ker-Seymer.