Michael Joseph (1941-) - Lady enjoying tea - so very british

*Michael Joseph - Tea Time!!!, London, 1960s* Original vintage black-and-white photograph • Signed, titled and inscribed by the photographer A wonderfully simple yet brilliantly expressive early photograph by Michael Joseph, taken in London in the 1960s. There is no elaborate set here, no crowd of models and no extravagant props - just a woman, a cup of tea, a spoon and one magnificently expressive face. Joseph catches the precise instant at which an everyday ritual becomes visual comedy. The tightly framed composition concentrates everything on the sitter’s reaction: the furrowed brow, pursed expression and vigorous stirring suggest that this is not merely a cup of tea, but a matter of considerable importance. The simplicity is deceptive. With so few elements in the frame, there is nowhere for a photograph to hide. The lighting, focus, crop, position of the hand and cup - and, above all, the sitter’s fleeting expression - all have to work together. In the analogue era, Joseph could not inspect the back of a camera and simply try again until satisfied: the decisive expression had to be recognised and caught as it happened. It is also a charmingly British image. Few subjects could be more ordinary than making a cup of tea, yet Joseph turns the ritual into a miniature character study, full of humour and personality. The print is especially appealing as an original vintage photographic object, carrying Michael Joseph’s handwritten inscriptions directly beneath the image: “Tea Time!!!” - London, 1960s together with his distinctive signature. The three exclamation marks perhaps say everything. A delightful example of Joseph’s ability to find theatre in the everyday - a cup of tea, a perfectly timed expression, and a fraction of a second preserved for more than half a century.

Estimate:£376.73

View all items fromCatawikiorPhotographs