Richard Learoyd (1966)

Richard Learoyd

Richard Learoyd is a British photographer. He is known for his large-scale, camera obscura photographs that capture incredibly detailed, lifelike images of people and objects.

Learoyd studied fine art painting before transitioning to photography, and his work often blurs the lines between photography, painting, and sculpture. He constructs his own camera obscura by building a room and attaching a large, convex lens to one wall, which projects an upside-down image of the subject onto a sheet of photographic paper. He then uses traditional darkroom techniques to develop and print the final image.

Learoyd's photographs often feature portraits of friends and family members, as well as still lifes of everyday objects such as fruit, flowers, and animals. His work has been exhibited widely and is included in the collections of many major museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Learoyd has received numerous awards and honors for his photography, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a commission to create a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for the Diamond Jubilee of her reign.