The grave of John Gay, Highgate Cemetery, London

John Gay (born Hans Göhler: 1909 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

, Germany – 1999 in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

, London) was a photographer.

Early life

Gay attended art college in his home town. In 1933 he left Germany, following

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's appointment as

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, moving to England with his friend Walter Stern and Stern's family, including his mother, the photographer Martha Stern.

Career

He settled in London, where he changed his name, and launched a photographic career, finding work as a self-employed commercial photographer, before serving with the Pioneer Corps from 1939 until the end of the Second World War. Following his marriage to Marie Arnheim in 1942, the couple settled in

, London. Here he based his professional photographic practice which covered a varied range of subjects from animals for pet food companies, architecture and country scenes for '' Country Fair'' magazine, to the portraits of literary personalities including

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Und ...

and

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (Birth name, née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a su ...

for the ''

Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though th ...

''. In the summer of 1949 Gay captured a series of photographs of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

holidaymakers for ''Country Fair'', many of which now typify the popular image of seaside holidays of the past. Gay’s love of architecture, nature and the countryside are reflected in his work. His photographs are published in six books. It was his second book ''Prospect of Highgate & Hampstead'' (1967) that put Gay on the map as an architectural photographer. In 1972 he published ''London’s Historic Railway Stations with Sir

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture ...

'' but his best known book is ''Highgate Cemetery'', published in 1984, with Felix Barker. A subject close to his heart, Gay was actively involved in the rejuvenation of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

following years of neglect after the Second World War. After his death in 1999, over 40,000 of Gay's photographs were left to

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

and are held in its public archive, now the Historic England Archive. There is what appears to be a headstone in the west of

suggesting that his ashes are buried there, however there is no record of their interment in the Cemetery's archives. The stone lies near a main path, opposite the grave of

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...

, but it is easily missed, being small and partly obscured by planting.

Books published

''John Gay: England Observed''

* published in 2009 by English Heritage. 300 photographs from the large collection of his work held by English Heritage in its public archive.

''Prospect of Highgate & Hampstead''

* published in 1967 and attributed to Clark, Leonard and John Gay

''London’s Historic Railway Stations''

* published in 1972 and attributed to Sir

(author) and John Gay (photographer)

''Highgate Cemetery: Victorian Valhalla''

Gay spent a lot of time as a volunteer with the Friends of Highgate Cemetery. In 1984 they published this book incorporating a collection of his photographs, with a commentary by Francis Barker ()

External links

Historic England Archive

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, John 20th-century British photographers Architectural photographers Artists from Karlsruhe 1909 births 1999 deaths Artists from London Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Burials at Highgate Cemetery British Army personnel of World War II Royal Pioneer Corps soldiers