Colin Ford (curator)

For the actor, see Colin Ford.

Colin Ford
Born
Colin John Ford

1934 (age 90–91)
United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materUniversity College, Oxford
Occupation(s)Photographic curator, historian of photography, and former museum director
Known forKeeper at the National Portrait Gallery, London
Director of the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television
Director of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales
AwardsCommander of the Order of the British Empire

Colin John Ford CBE (born 1934) is a British photographic curator, historian of photography, and former museum director. He has written a number of books on the history of photography.

Life

Ford was educated at University College, Oxford University. He began his career in the theatre.[1] He has been a director and broadcaster. Between 1972 and 1982 he was Keeper of Film and Photography at the National Portrait Gallery, London. He then became the first director of the UK National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford (later to become the National Media Museum).[2] From 1992 he was Director of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales.[3]

Ford has interviewed contemporary photographers such as Don McCullin.[4] He also gives lectures on the history of photography.[5]

Until 2010, he was Chairman of the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation.[3] He is Vice-President of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust and Chairman of the Peel Entertainment Group.[citation needed]

Books

Photograph of Sir John Herschel by Julia Margaret Cameron, an illustration in Ford's book Julia Margaret Cameron: 19th Century Photographer of Genius.
  • An Early Victorian Album: The Photographic Masterpieces of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson (1974).
  • The Cameron Collection: An Album of Photographs by Julia Margaret Cameron (1975).
  • Portraits (1982).
  • Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography in the 20th Century: Brassaï, Capa, Kertész, Moholy-Nagy, Munkásci, Royal Academy of Arts (2011), with Péter Baki. ISBN 978-1905711765.[6]

Awards and legacy

Ford is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

The Royal Photographic Society established the annual Colin Ford Award in 2003 for contributions to curatorship, named after Colin Ford as the first director of the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.[7]

There are several photographs of Ford in the National Portrait Gallery (London) collection, including works by Arnold Newman, Norman Parkinson, and Cheryl Twomey.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Colin Ford". USA: Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  2. ^ Ford, Colin (13 June 2013). "30 and Out? The National Media Museum Under Threat". Writing about Photographs. Francis Hodgson. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Colin Ford CBE". UK: Arts4dementia. 15 September 2011. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Don McCullin in Conversation with Colin Ford". UK: The Photographers' Gallery. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Hungarian Photography Lecture Series in Budapest to start with Colin Ford". UK: Hunglish.org. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  6. ^ Cumming, Laura (3 July 2011). "Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography in the 20th Century – review". The Observer. UK.
  7. ^ "Colin Ford Award". Awards. Royal Photographic Society. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Colin Ford". Search the Collection. UK: National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 9 June 2014.