By this time, in 1974, I developed a good working relationship with Michael Rand, who was the art director for the Sunday Times Magazine in London. He was instrumental in hiring me for many assignments, and one of the biggest proponents for me publishing a book of my work. At the time I didn’t realise the importance and value my images could become in the future.
I was entirely focused on the present–getting work and appreciating the immediate results of being successfully published. I didn’t even comprehend the importance of the films I worked on, including The Great Gatsby, how the images I shot at the time would be so appreciated nearly 50 years later.
The Great Gatsby was the 1974 film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s seminal novel. Starring Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby and Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan, the film was directed by Jack Clayton.
The movie was shot in Rhode Island, during the summer. I remember especially the night filming being so humid that from the moist leaves it felt like it was raining gently. It was a stunning setting, huge gardens, and the films beauty was only matched by the exquisite costumes, including the dresses, hats and jewellery worn by the star, Mia Farrow. Michael [Rand] asked me to focus on the costumes for the piece in the magazine, and it was my portrait of Mia [Farrow] which we’ve chosen as the cover of this book, that would appear on the cover of the Sunday Times Magazine upon the film’s release.
Extract taken from "Through Her Lens" by Eva Sereny.