David Redfern (1936-2014) - Thelonious Monk, Blue note series, 1970

Superb and very rare photolithograph of the iconic jazzman Thelonious Monk in full concert in 1970
Print by the famous Jazz photographer David Redfern, known in particular for his series produced for the "Blue Note" label.

A rare collectible photograph ready to frame.

Technique: Photolithography on high-quality thick paper.
Photographer: David Redfern
Title: Thelonious Monk, 1970
Signature: Photographer and publishing house listed on a plaque at the bottom left of the image.
Photo credits: Staff
Dimensions: 29.4 cm × 32.0 cm × 1.2 cm
Condition: Excellent. Never framed.
Shipping: Careful and secure delivery with tracking number via Colissimo and UPS, requiring a signature and with insurance.

About the jazz label 'Blue Note'.

Created at a time when photography was still striving to be considered an art, Francis Wolff's use of striking contrast and abstract framing echoes other 20th-century artists such as Man Ray and Horst P Horst.

Between art, documentary, and marketing, Wolff produced a series of exquisite works for Blue Note Records. While the primary function was promotional, the images remain a major documentation of this key period in history.

About the photographer:

David Redfern was born in Staffordshire in 1947. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Reading from 1965 to 1969, followed by a postgraduate degree from the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.

In 1971, Redfern joined the staff of the newly opened Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens as a gallery assistant, where he worked until 1984. The gallery received a direct grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain and, during its summer program, presented works by young, emerging artists from all over the UK. One of his duties was to project thousands of slides of works for the selection committee, which selected works from an open file. The successful works came to London, where Redfern and his colleagues helped install and present contemporary art to an often skeptical public. It was an excellent opportunity to debate and discuss current issues with artists from all over the country.



From 1984 to 2011, Redfern worked at Croydon College, both part-time and full-time, on the art and design courses, from teaching to managing several programs. Contact and interaction with both junior and senior art students on a more formal basis were equally enriching and rewarding.



In 2000, Redfern was elected to the London Group, an artists' collective founded in 1913 by Walter Sickert, Jacob Epstein, Harold Gilman, and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska. Shortly after, he was asked to take on the role of archivist, which he gladly accepted. Many years of research at the Tate Archives culminated in the publication of "The London Group: A History 1913–2013" on the occasion of the group's 100th anniversary.

Throughout his life, Redfern sought to travel and draw inspiration from other cultures, including the United States, Russia, China, and New Zealand. He exhibited at the Hayward Gallery, the Serpentine Gallery, the Royal Academy Summer Shows, and provincial galleries, including Southampton, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Cardiff. The Arts Council Collection, Southampton City Art Gallery, and Wolverhampton Art Gallery, as well as private patrons, collected his work.