Sir Elton John Announces Tate Modern Collaboration To Showcase Modern Photography Collection

Sir Elton John has announced that he’s teaming up with the Tate Modern art museum to showcase a selection of images from his private collection of 20th century photography later this year.

The exhibition, to be entitled ‘The Radical Eye’, is to feature more than 150 images from masters of modern photography from the 1920s to the 1950s, such as Man Ray, Alexander Rodchenko and Dorothea Lange.

The Tate Modern says that the selection made available is “unrivalled”, though it constitutes just a scratch on the surface of the singer’s massive collection, reportedly containing more than 7,000 artworks. The catalogue, which he began collecting more than 25 years ago, is “one of the world's greatest private collections of photography” according to the museum.

Sir Elton John pictured leaving the BBC studios in February 2016

The pictures will be transported from Sir Elton’s various homes around the world and brought to London ahead of the exhibition, which opens to the public on November 10th.

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Sir Elton, 68, said in a statement that he was “honoured” to work with the Tate Modern to make some of the rare photographs available to the public for the first time.

“The modernist era in photography is one of the key moments within the medium and collecting work from this period has brought me great joy over the last 25 years,” he said.

“Each of these photographs serves as inspiration for me in my life; they line the walls of my homes and I consider them precious gems. I hope the exhibition audience experiences as much joy in seeing the works as I have had in finding them.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate Modern, said that ‘The Radical Eye’ would be “truly unique”. “There are few collections of modernist photography in the UK, so we are delighted that Sir Elton John has allowed us to draw on his incredible collection and give everyone a chance to see these iconic works.”

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