Stunning unseen photographs of Brigitte Bardot by "first paparazzo"

Date
8 June 2015

My God Bardot, what a megababe. Now the entire editorial team has finished echoing that statement and cooing over her hair, we’ve settled on the more professional pursuit of admiring the photography of Ray Bellisario, whose previously unseen images we’re presenting today, 13 of which are now on show at London’s Dadiani Fine Art gallery. The images were all captured in 1968 while Bardot was in London promoting Shalako, and show the star aged 34 and looking as sparkling as ever but in settings even us normal people could find ourselves, like the pub, or Selfridges.

As well as offering tantalising glimpses of Bardot, they also offer a peek into the early days of paparazzi photography, and the gallery claims that Ray was “the first modern-day paprazzo.” He apparently “haunted the Queen and her children from 1955 onwards,” adding that “his activities prompted Prince Philip to suggest he should be imprisoned in the Tower.”

Brigitte Bardot, 13 Unseen Photographs, London 1968 by Ray Bellisario, is at Dadiani Fine Art until 30 June

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Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

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Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

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Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

Above

Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

Above

Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

Above

Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

Above

Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

Above

Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

Above

Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

Above

Ray Bellisario: Brigitte Bardot. Copyright James Birch, courtesy of Dadiani Fine Art

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About the Author

Emily Gosling

Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

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