With the crack of a hunting rifle and a spray of champagne, the high-society of England knew how to party. There capturing the glamorous, vulnerable, and riotous life of the upperclass was photographer
Dafydd Jones, who was granted access to some of England’s most exclusive upper-class events during the 1980s.
Now, the author of the best-selling
Oxford: The Last Hurrah presents this irreverent and intimate portrait of birthday parties and charity balls, Eton picnics and private school celebrations in his new book,
England: The Last Hurrah (ACC Art Books).
Against the backdrop of Thatcher’s Britain, globalization, the Falklands War, rising stocks and dwindling inherited fortunes, Jones reveals the inner lives of the established elite as they party long into the night-time of their fading world.
Pop Vincent pushed in by Charles McDowell during the Martin Betts Dance, Ascot, 1982© Dafydd Jones
Melinda Smiley and Sarah Gordon, Royal Caledonian Ball, Grosvenor House, London, 1986© Dafydd Jones
About the Author:
Dafydd Jones (b.1956) grew up in Oxford and started working for the Bodleian Library aged 16. His pictures of the Oxford University 'Bright Young Things' launched his career. With work published in the Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New York Observer, The Sunday Telegraph, The Times, Independent and Oldie, his photography is held in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery and the Hyman Collection of British Photography, London; the Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol; the Opsis Foundation, New York; and the Yale Museum of British Art, New Haven.
www.dafjones.com
@dafyddjonesphotographer
Melinda Smiley and Sarah Gordon, Royal Caledonian Ball, Grosvenor House, London, 1986© Dafydd Jones
Melinda Smiley and Sarah Gordon, Royal Caledonian Ball, Grosvenor House, London, 1986© Dafydd Jones
Queen Elizabeth II in London, Shaftesbury Avenue, November 1983 © Dafydd Jones