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Up close and personal with Annie Leibovitz
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent18 Jun 2008
She is known for her portraits of stars from Nicole Kidman to Brad Pitt - and the Queen.
But a new exhibition this autumn will show a more personal side to photographer Annie Leibovitz, 58.
The show, at the National Portrait Gallery, will present intimate studies of her parents and siblings and photographs of the birth and childhood of her three daughters, who include twins born to a surrogate mother.
Most significantly, it includes portraits of writer Susan Sontag, her lover for a decade until Sontag's death in 2004.
More than 150 works will be arranged chronologically to show a narrative of Leibovitz's private life against the backdrop of her public image since 1990.
"I don't have two lives," she said. "This is one life and the personal picture and the assignment work are all part of it."
Coming in the wake of an exhibition of portraits from Vanity Fair magazine, the show is set to fan criticisms of celebrity overkill. It will include shots of well known figures including Daniel Day-Lewis, Al Pacino, Mikhail Baryshnikov and William S Burroughs.
But Sandy Nairne, the gallery's director, said the point of the exhibition was to show there was more to Leibovitz than just famous people.
"It's an extraordinary show as it's about her personal life as well as her public assignments," he said. "It's very emotional. The stories it charts include her relationship with Susan Sontag, then Sontag's death and her father passing away."
Leibovitz's taking of the Queen's portrait was filmed for a BBC documentary which provoked a row when a trailer appeared to show the monarch flouncing out of the sitting. The BBC later admitted the trailer's editing was misleading.
Mr Nairne said: "The portrait became more famous because of the documentary in a way that was nothing to do with her."
The exhibition also includes large landscapes that the photographer describes as her personal assignments.
Leibovitz first made a name for herself working for Rolling Stone magazine. Her famous images include a naked pregnant Demi Moore and a photograph of John Lennon with Yoko Ono five hours before the ex-Beatle was murdered.
• Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005 runs from 16 October to 25 January, sponsored by Bridgepoint and Gap.
