Jane Bown, Bjork, 1995 © The Estate of Jane Bown.

Jane Bown: Play Shadow offers an intimate portrait of one of Britain’s most revered photographers, Jane Bown (1925–2014), whose quietly powerful black-and-white portraits have become iconic within the canon of 20th century photography.

The new exhibition, at Newlands House Gallery, Petworth expands beyond the familiar public image of Bown’s work as a photographer with The Observer newspaper, to reveal the deeply personal vision and consistent philosophy that guided her work: a belief in simplicity, natural light, and the decisive presence of a good face.

Play Shadow presents a selection of photographs, some rarely publicly displayed, across several thematic groupings, that explore Jane Bown’s approach to composition, light, and emotional presence. It includes archival material and personal reflections, offering insight into a photographer who saw technological restraint not as a limitation, but as a creative discipline.

Jane Bown was an alumna of the Guildford School of Art – which offered the UK’s only full-time photography course at the time – now part of the University for the Creative Arts (UCA). The exhibition includes Show Me to You by Fast Forward: Women in Photography, which celebrates the continuing legacy of Jane Bown and UCA’s distinguished graduates. Known for her intimate and honest portraits, Bown’s influence resonates in the work of UCA alumni and staff: Anna Fox, Sunil Gupta, Karen Knorr, Eileen Perrier, Charan Singh, Corinne Whitehouse and Priyanka Pattni whose portraits carry forward her humanistic vision while reimagining it for contemporary identities, representation, and social change.

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