Robert Davidson is a Scottish photographer, best known for the iconic image of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

sitting on a toilet in a London hotel room in 1967. Born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, he left school at seventeen years old to live in Paris, where he met the '' Time Life'' photographer Emil Cadoo. Davidson returned to London two years later and began to work in

fashion photography Fashion photography is a genre of photography which is devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items, sometimes haute couture. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking a picture of a dressed model in a photographic studio o ...

, taking the first test shots of

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

. In 1965, Davidson became friends with Tony Secunda, manager of The Moody Blues, Procol Harum and The Move. Appointed Secunda's official photographer, Robert photographed

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David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and Arthur Brown. During the 1970s he became a follower of the Indian guru

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 193119 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as Osho (), was an Indian godman, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He was viewed as a controv ...

, later known as Osho. He is the father of

Holly Davidson Holly Davidson (born 26 April 1980 in London) is an English actress, model and personal trainer. Davidson is most known for her recurring roles on the TV series' ''Renford Rejects'', ''The Bill'', and ''Casualty''; and roles in the films '' Fin ...

, a British actress, and stepfather to the actress Sadie Frost. He has exhibited his work in the UK and in Europe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Robert Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Scottish photographers Artists from Dundee