New images by John Aston added to Photos section of website

Contact sheets of Pauline Boty, c. 1962/63, photographed by John Aston. © Estate of John Aston

Many thanks indeed to the Estate of John Aston for agreeing to allow a selection of his portraits of Pauline Boty from the contact sheets above to be shown on the website. The images are, for the most part, unseen at large before.

John Aston trained as a photographer and graphic designer, starting his career as art editor for the magazine Photographic Review before joining the BBC Publishing division. He later became manager of the BBC’s Graphic Design Studios where his contributions included the iconic spinning globe ident. Aston photographed Boty on two occasions, his images accompanying the article “Pauline Goes Pop” in Men Only magazine’s issue of March 1963. One of his portraits of Boty is held by the National Portrait Gallery, which includes the only surviving record of her painting of Marilyn Monroe with beads, later overpainted by the work “Colour Her Gone”.

John Aston’s photos can be seen here: [link]

For information on the licensing any of these images please get in touch via the Contact form here: [link]

Rarely-seen photos of Pauline Boty and Clive Goodwin shared with paulineboty.org

Many thanks to Clive Goodwin’s nephew for sharing a number of press cuttings and photos recently, and for allowing a selection to be shown here on the website.

The first is of Pauline Boty and Clive Goodwin attending a family wedding in 1964 with the former presumably wearing the same Liberty cloche hat by her Royal College of Art friend James Wedge (as identified by Adam Smith) she wore when she and Goodwin were married at Chelsea Register Office on 24 June 1963, seen in a black and white news item from the time.
The second photo is an undated publicity shot of Goodwin, presumably from the mid- to late-1950s.
And the third is of a programme for a production of Antony Brown’s Paradise Street for the Studio Theatre Club on 20 January 1957 crediting Goodwin as Producer.

Pauline and Clive attending a family wedding in 1964. Photo courtesy of Clive Goodwin’s nephew

c. 1950s publicity shot of Clive Goodwin by Landseer of Dean Street, London WC2. Photo courtesy of Clive Goodwin’s nephew

Programme for Antony Brown’s “Paradise Street”, 20 January 1957. Photo courtesy of Clive Goodwin’s nephew

Pauline Boty signed photo by John Aston sold at RR Auction

Pauline Boty signed photo by John Aston, 1962. Image courtesty of RR Auction

Earlier this week the photo above by John Aston of Boty smoking a cigarette was sold by RR Auction based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, specialists in rare manuscripts, autographs, and historic artefacts. Signed and inscribed in fountain pen, “To George, Best wishes, Pauline Boty”. Vintage glossy 8.75 x 5.75 inch photo. Price realised: $1,242 [plus Buyer’s Premium]. Estimate: $200+.

Taken in 1962, this is from a series John Aston took which included a portrait of Boty standing in front of a painting by her of Marilyn Monroe, mimicking Monroe’s pose with beads in mouth. The whereabouts of this are now unknown, although it is possible that it was overpainted to become “The Only Blonde in the World”.

Please click here to see the version held by the National Portrait Gallery [link]

New photos added to the site, courtesy of Geoffrey Reeve

The first of a number of new images of Pauline Boty has been added to the website thanks to the generosity of one of her friends and fellow RCA students, Geoffrey Reeve, who also co-exhibited his paintings in the pioneering exhibition Blake, Boty, Porter, Reeve at the AIA Gallery in 1961.
Pictured below is Boty with fellow students from the stained glass department, photographed by Reeve for an article entitled “It’s Magic” in ARK 33 magazine, Autumn 1962.
Further of his portraits of Boty and her contemporaries will be shown in due course on the site via In Focus>Photos, changing on a regular basis.
Over 30 of Reeve’s photos are available to license from Bridgeman Images for personal, presentation and editorial use here: [link]