Celebrated photographer and Twin girl Jane Bown sadly died, aged 89, on Sunday 21 December. She joined The Observer in 1949 and went on to photograph the Queen, the Beatles, Richard Nixon, and other key figures of the 20th century. Several of her pictures hang in the National Portrait Gallery.

Quoting from her interview in Twin issue X [believed to be her last ever], Bown said, ‘I’ve never wanted to take a bad picture of anybody.’ Such a simple ethos is much at odds with our current society of paparazzi and bare-all celebrity. No wonder her sharply beautiful portraits continue to hold a sense of wonder for us all today.

Tags: death, Jane Bown, Observer, Photographer

In our tenth edition Twin celebrates trailblazers. Head of the pack is Jane Bown the prominent portraitist, now 89, whose powerful imagery is celebrated in a new documentary. We travel to Barnard College to meet Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, the graphic designer, professor and artist who was the first female to receive tenure at Yale University. We also step into the wonderful world of Langley Fox, the youngest of the Hemingway pack who is fashion’s model-of-the-moment. Elsewhere, photographer Boo George shows strength in beauty shooting Kati Nescher in her most womanly guise. And finally, Ben Weller goes back to the classroom to capture this season’s preppy Dior.

BUY

BUY

Tags: Barnard College, Ben Weller, Boo George, Dior, Jane Bown, Kati Nescher, Langley Fox, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville