Londoners Through A Lens

What makes a Londoner? Place of birth, place of work, a certain accent, a particular attitude? Living here, dying here? Finding fame and fortune here? Look around these walls and you'll find all these things, and many more.

As with Time Out/Getty Images' previous exhibition and book, London through a lens, we've rifled through the vast archives of Getty Images to unearth a multifaceted selection of photographs of the capital from the past hundred years or so, but this time with the emphasis on the capital's inhabitants.

The capital has produced its fair share of heroes and heroines down the ages, so you'll spot plenty of famous faces. Some are defined by their London connections (step forward Mary Quant, Terence Conran and Michael Caine), some made their name and reputation here (take a bow Norman Hartnell and the Sex Pistols), others worked tirelessly to improve the lot of Londoners (thanks to Sylvia Pankhurst) or to keep them entertained (three cheers for Kenneth Williams and Peter Sellers). And plenty of famous places pop up too, among them Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Covent Garden Market and Kew Gardens.

But there are just as many ordinary and anonymous people on ordinary and anonymous streets doing what Londoners have always done: queuing, shopping, working, striking, protesting, laughing, celebrating, playing, eating, sleeping and generally getting on with life in this bustling, overcrowded, dirty, historic, exciting metropolis. And it’s to them that this exhibition is dedicated: Londoners through the years, without whom this great city would be a dull and lifeless place.

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