The genesis of David Bailey’s photographs of Catherine Bailey and Angie Hill relates to his series ‘The Lady is a Tramp: Portraits of Catherine Bailey’, published in 1995. It is a tribute in five movements - nudes, fashion, pregnancy, children, and beauty - the series is a multifaceted portrait of Catherine as wife, mother, model, and muse to David Bailey. The publication’s title was not intended as a reference that diminishes; rather, it alludes to the Frank Sinatra song, suggesting a spirit of independence and nonconformity. It was a collaborative portrayal, with Catherine emphasising her agency as a muse and the complex interplay between artistic vision and personal autonomy.

Author Fay Weldon wrote the text for the book, exploring the relationship between photographer and model, especially when those roles intersect with husband and wife, artist and muse. Of its creation, Catherine has framed her active involvement as a conscious partnership with Bailey, asserting, ‘I’m always in control. Always. “The Lady is a Tramp” because, every now and then, she wants to be.’

Within Bailey’s artist’s oeuvre, this series represents a critical moment that blends the photographer’s technical mastery with deep personal intimacy. Through his distinctive visual language, it explores complex themes of identity, femininity, sexuality, motherhood, and human connection.

While this photograph is not featured in the final edit of the book, the depiction of Catherine in an embrace with the model Angie Hill relates to others from the same series. We only recently discovered this particular piece while exploring Bailey’s archives in preparation for Photo London 2025.

The image transcends traditional portraiture by capturing a moment that is both ambiguous and provocative. The subjects appear sensual at times, while others reference the Pietà theme within art history. This particular composition, depicting a soft embrace between Catherine and Angie, invites the viewer to question boundaries between the sensual and the maternal, the personal and the performative.

The portraits with Angie Hill, particularly their intimate poses, are contextualised within Weldon’s analysis of the ‘plurality of selves’ within one female body, a theme Catherine embodies through her shifting roles. She states, ‘For everyone who sees it, a picture will be different.’ Catherine reinforces her central role within the work’s narrative, favouring collaborative artistry and the multiplicity of interpretations.

Since its creation, Bailey’s images of Catherine Bailey with model Angie Hill have endured as an important contribution to contemporary photography, continuing to resonate with audiences and collectors decades after their creation. As part of David Bailey’s larger artistic legacy, this particular platinum palladium is striking in its dynamic composition and Bailey’s sense of transforming personal relationships into universal explorations of the human condition through photography.