Bert Hardy Figurative Photography
British, 1913-1995
Bert Hardy was a British photojournalist renowned for his compassionate and immersive approach to documenting everyday life. Born in Blackfriars, London, he left school at the age of fourteen and worked a series of jobs before discovering photography while serving in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Largely self-taught, Hardy developed his skills through constant practice and experimentation, using photography as a way to engage closely with the world around him. His early experiences shaped a deeply humanistic outlook that would define his career.
Hardy is best known for his long association with Picture Post, where he produced some of the most memorable images of post-war Britain and beyond. Working both at home and internationally, he photographed street life, social conditions, and political events with equal sensitivity, often gaining the trust of his subjects through patience and empathy. His images from cities such as London, Paris, and in Korea reveal a photographer attuned not only to dramatic events but to the quiet dignity and resilience of ordinary people.
Throughout his career, Hardy remained committed to telling stories through close observation and emotional honesty. His photographs balance journalistic immediacy with warmth and respect, avoiding sensationalism in favour of genuine human connection. Today, Bert Hardy is regarded as one of the great figures of British photojournalism, his work continuing to resonate for its clarity, compassion, and enduring social relevance.to
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Artist: Bert Hardy
Cafe Culture by Bert Hardy Limited Edition Giant Oversize Silver Gelatin Print
By Bert Hardy
Located in London, GB
"Cafe Culture" by Bert Hardy
A waiter serving clients on the terrace of a cafe on the Champs-Elysees, Paris, June 1951.
Original publication: Picture Po...
Category
1950s Modern Bert Hardy Figurative Photography
Materials
Black and White
Cafe Culture by Bert Hardy Limited Edition Giant Oversize Silver Gelatin Print
By Bert Hardy
Located in London, GB
"Cafe Culture" by Bert Hardy
A waiter serving clients on the terrace of a cafe on the Champs-Elysees, Paris, June 1951.
Original publication: Picture Post - 5343 - Sunday Morning I...
Category
1950s Modern Bert Hardy Figurative Photography
Materials
Black and White
Last Bus In London by Bert Hardy - Limited Edition silver gelatine print
By Bert Hardy
Located in London, GB
Last Bus In London by Bert Hardy
Limited Edition silver gelatine print
A couple saying goodbye on a bus in Shaftesbury Avenue in London, July 1953 .
Original Publication: Picture Post - 6576 - Known Your Piccadilly - pub. 4th July 1953
(Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Archive London England)
Paper size 12x16 inches / 31 x 41 cm
Produced utilising the original negative
Numbered and stamped by the Getty Archive London
Limited edition to 300 only
Silver gelatine fibre based baryta paper print
Certificate of authenticity included
printed 2024
Ships securely from London.
Other sizes and Framing available on request.
Bert Hardy
Bert Hardy
Albert William Thomas Hardy (19 May 1913 – 3 July 1995) was an English documentary and press photographer known for his work published in the Picture Post magazine between 1941 and 1957.
Life and work
Born in Blackfriars, Bert Hardy rose from humble working class origins in Southwark, London. The eldest of seven children, he left school at age 14 to work for a chemist who also processed photos. His first big sale came in 1936 when he photographed King George V and Queen Mary in a passing carriage during the Silver Jubilee celebrations, and sold 200 small prints of his best view of the King. His first assignment, at age 23, was to photograph Hungarian actor Sakall at the Mayfair Hotel. Hardy freelanced for The Bicycle magazine, and bought his first small-format 35 mm Leica. He signed on with the General Photographic Agency as a Leica photographer, later founding his own freelance firm, Criterion.
General Photographic Agency
General Photographic Agency a Fleet Street, London agency, sold photos at least between 1880-1950.
Picture Post and World War II
In 1941, Hardy was recruited by the then editor Tom Hopkinson of the leading picture publication of the 1930s to the 1950s, Picture Post. Founded in 1938 and funded by publisher Edward Hulton, the magazine's first editor was Hungarian émigré Stefan Lorant (1901–97) assisted by Hopkinson, who took over as editor from 1940. The picture-centric, left-leaning and reasonably-priced publication was highly successful and circulation soon rose to over a million. Hardy's photographer colleagues included Felix H. Man (aka Hans Baumann...
Category
1950s Modern Bert Hardy Figurative Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Blackpool Railings - Bert Hardy
By Bert Hardy
Located in London, GB
July 14, 1951. Two women chatting on the railings in Blackpool. The picture was taken by Bert Hardy using a single-focus box camera. The women are former Tiller Girls Pat Wilson...
Category
1950s Modern Bert Hardy Figurative Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Gorbals Boys (1948) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
By Bert Hardy
Located in London, GB
Gorbals Boys (1948) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
(Photo by Bert Hardy/Getty Images Archive London)
Possibly Bert Hardy's most famous image.
Two boys in the Gorbals area of Glasgow.
The Gorbals tenements were built quickly and cheaply in the 1840s, providing housing for Glasgow's burgeoning population of industrial workers.
Conditions were appalling; overcrowding was standard and sewage and water facilities inadequate.
The tenements housed about 40,000 people with up to eight family members sharing a single room,
30 residents sharing a toilet and 40 sharing a tap.
By the time this photograph was taken 850 tenements had been demolished since 1920.
Redevelopment of the area began in the late 1950s and the tenements were replaced with a modern tower block complex in the sixties. Original Publication: Picture Post - 4499 - The Forgotten Gorbals - pub. 1948
Additional Information:
Unframed
Paper Size: 20 x 16'' inches / 51 x 41 cm
Printed 2024
Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
Limited edition issued and stamped on front by the Getty Archive London
Edition size 300 only
NOTE OTHER SIZES OF THIS IMAGE AVAILABLE
10 x 8''
10 x 12''
12 x 16''
16 x 20''
20 x 24''
FRAMING AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
Bert Hardy Albert William Thomas Hardy (19 May 1913 – 3 July 1995)
was an English documentary and press photographer
known for his work published in the Picture Post magazine between 1941 and 1957.
Life and work Born in Blackfriars, Bert Hardy rose from humble working class origins in Southwark, London.
The eldest of seven children, he left school at age 14 to work for a chemist who also processed photos.
His first big sale came in 1936 when he photographed King George V and Queen Mary in a passing carriage during the Silver Jubilee celebrations, and sold 200 small prints of his best view of the King.
His first assignment, at age 23, was to photograph Hungarian actor Sakall at the Mayfair Hotel.
Hardy freelanced for The Bicycle magazine, and bought his first small-format 35 mm Leica.
He signed on with the General Photographic Agency as a Leica photographer,
later founding his own freelance firm, Criterion.
General Photographic Agency General Photographic Agency a Fleet Street, London agency, sold photos at least between 1880-1950.
Picture Post and World War II In 1941,
Hardy was recruited by the then editor Tom Hopkinson of the leading picture publication of the 1930s to the 1950s, Picture Post.
Founded in 1938 and funded by publisher Edward Hulton, the magazine's first editor was Hungarian émigré Stefan Lorant (1901–97) assisted by Hopkinson, who took over as editor from 1940. The picture-centric, left-leaning and reasonably-priced publication was highly successful and circulation soon rose to over a million.
Hardy's photographer colleagues included Felix H. Man (aka Hans Baumann...
Category
1940s Modern Bert Hardy Figurative Photography
Materials
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
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Bert Hardy Gorbals Boys 1948 - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
By Bert Hardy
Located in London, GB
Gorbals Boys (1948) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
(Photo by Bert Hardy/Getty Images Archive London)
Possibly Bert Hardy's most famous image.
Two boys in the Gorbals area of Glasgow.
The Gorbals tenements were built quickly and cheaply in the 1840s, providing housing for Glasgow's burgeoning population of industrial workers.
Conditions were appalling; overcrowding was standard and sewage and water facilities inadequate.
The tenements housed about 40,000 people with up to eight family members sharing a single room,
30 residents sharing a toilet and 40 sharing a tap.
By the time this photograph was taken 850 tenements had been demolished since 1920.
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Additional Information:
Unframed
Paper Size: 20 x 16'' inches / 51 x 41 cm
Printed 2024
Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
Limited edition issued and stamped on front by the Getty Archive London
Edition size 300 only
NOTE OTHER SIZES OF THIS IMAGE AVAILABLE
10 x 8''
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16 x 20''
20 x 24''
FRAMING AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
Bert Hardy Albert William Thomas Hardy (19 May 1913 – 3 July 1995)
was an English documentary and press photographer
known for his work published in the Picture Post magazine between 1941 and 1957.
Life and work Born in Blackfriars, Bert Hardy rose from humble working class origins in Southwark, London.
The eldest of seven children, he left school at age 14 to work for a chemist who also processed photos.
His first big sale came in 1936 when he photographed King George V and Queen Mary in a passing carriage during the Silver Jubilee celebrations, and sold 200 small prints of his best view of the King.
His first assignment, at age 23, was to photograph Hungarian actor Sakall at the Mayfair Hotel.
Hardy freelanced for The Bicycle magazine, and bought his first small-format 35 mm Leica.
He signed on with the General Photographic Agency as a Leica photographer,
later founding his own freelance firm, Criterion.
General Photographic Agency General Photographic Agency a Fleet Street, London agency, sold photos at least between 1880-1950.
Picture Post and World War II In 1941,
Hardy was recruited by the then editor Tom Hopkinson of the leading picture publication of the 1930s to the 1950s, Picture Post.
Founded in 1938 and funded by publisher Edward Hulton, the magazine's first editor was Hungarian émigré Stefan Lorant (1901–97) assisted by Hopkinson, who took over as editor from 1940. The picture-centric, left-leaning and reasonably-priced publication was highly successful and circulation soon rose to over a million.
Hardy's photographer colleagues included Felix H. Man (aka Hans Baumann...
Category
1940s Modern Bert Hardy Figurative Photography
Materials
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
Lunch Time (1955) - Giant Oversize Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
By Bert Hardy
Located in London, GB
Lunch Time (1955) - Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Limited Estate Stamped
(Photo by Michael Webb/Getty Images)
Five British models eating lunch in their swi...
Category
1960s Modern Bert Hardy Figurative Photography
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Black and White, Silver Gelatin
Bert Hardy figurative photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Bert Hardy figurative photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Bert Hardy in silver gelatin print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Bert Hardy figurative photography, so small editions measuring 30 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Justin Creedy Smith, Kurt Hutton, and George Barris. Bert Hardy figurative photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,100 and tops out at $1,450, while the average work can sell for $1,200.








