Susanna Brown

Susanna Brown

Curator and LecturerLondon, United Kingdom
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James Umpleby
Susanna Brown

Susanna Brown

Curator and LecturerLondon, United Kingdom
About me
I’m a photography curator, writer and advisor possessing a wealth of experience working with major museums, art galleries and archives. From 2008 to 2021, I was Curator of Photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. I’ve produced numerous major exhibitions and accompanying publications, including 'Tim Walker: Wonderful Things', 'Horst: Photographer of Style', 'Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography', and 'Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton'. These exhibitions have travelled to twenty museums around the world, and I’ve built a strong international network. I also made acquisitions for the museum's collection and curated collection displays for the museum’s permanent galleries, and collaborated with colleagues and architects to fund-raise for, devise and implement the V&A Photography Centre, opened in October 2018. Prior to joining the V&A, I worked in the curatorial team at London’s National Portrait Gallery, where I contributed to exhibitions including 'Vanity Fair Portraits' and 'The Beatles on the Balcony'. I studied at Wimbledon School of Art and Bristol University, and completed an MA in the History and Theory of the Art Museum at the Courtauld Institute. My research interests are diverse, and I’ve contributed to publications on historic and contemporary subjects ranging from Vivien Leigh to Alexander McQueen and Mary Quant. I write for magazines and journals and lecture internationally on the history of photography and contemporary collecting. I’ve been an invited juror for prestigious awards including the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography; Fotofest, Houston; and the 2019 Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography.
Projects
  • One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography
    One Hundred Years of Fashion PhotographyOne Hundred Years of Fashion Photography: Curation
  • Tim Walker: Wonderful Things
    Tim Walker: Wonderful ThingsA major exhibition at the V&A from September 2019 to March 2020, followed by an international tour.
  • Horst: Photographer of Style
    Horst: Photographer of StyleHorst: Photographer of Style: Curation Horst P. Horst (1906-99) created images that transcend fashion and time. He was a master of light, composition and atmospheric illusion, who conjured a world of sensual sophistication. In an extraordinary sixty-year career, his photographs graced the pages of Vogue and House and Garden under the one-word photographic byline ‘Horst’. He ranks alongside Irving Penn and Richard Avedon as one of the pre-eminent fashion and portrait photographers of the 20th ce
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Projects credited in
  • Tim Walker’s “Wonderful things” V&A exhibition
    Tim Walker’s “Wonderful things” V&A exhibitionSound design & Music curation
Work history
    V&A logo
    V&A logo
    Curator of PhotographsV&A
     - London, United KingdomFull Time
    National Portrait Gallery logo
    National Portrait Gallery logo
    Photographs CataloguerNational Portrait Gallery
     - London, United KingdomFull Time