Foreward

by Bryan Forbes CBE - film director, actor and writer

Those consistently in the public eye must inevitably suffer the often unwanted attentions of both professional and amateur photographers. Whether it is the fan armed with an instamatic or the paparazzi with his intrusive long focal lens, the results seldom merit inclusion in the National Portrait Gallery, but remain to haunt us through the years. Added to the slings and arrows aimed at anybody deemed newsworthy, are the negatives that forever trap the ravages of time that flesh is heir to, and can always be used to our detriment.

So, it is a rare pleasure when somebody of Lou Boileau's talent comes along and points his camera at us. The selection of portraits in this collection have the probing strength and depth of a photographer who has a painter's instinctive eye for composition, without which all the technical aids in the world are rendered mundane. No good having the latest camera if you don't know when to press the trigger. I am delighted that these fine examples of his work will introduce him to a wider audience and I am flattered that he has included me in his roll call.