Adrian Woodhouse
Encyclopedia
Adrian Woodhouse is a British
writer, journalist and collector. Born in Calcutta, India he moved with his family back to their native England in the mid-1960s. After reading history at King's College, Cambridge
he started work as a financial journalist before moving into gossip which better suited his talent since childhood for "collecting" famous people. In 1978 he became editor of Londoner's Diary in the Evening Standard
for four years and in the following decade worked successively for Tatler
, the Daily Telegraph and Robert Maxwell's short-lived London Daily News.
Through his more conventional collecting he curated from 1978 pioneering exhibitions of his favourite subjects - ceramics designer Susie Cooper
, graphic artist Beresford Egan
and surrealist photographer Angus McBean
- and published full-length biographies of all three. With Angus McBean
he also wrote Vivien: A Love Affair in Camera about Vivien Leigh
.
From the 1990s garden and architectural history have been his staples in Country Life
and other magazines. He was initiator of the Capability Brown birthplace museum at Kirkharle, Northumberland in 2000 and is acknowledged champion of the reputation of the 17th century architect and designer John Smithson
.
These professional notices should not obscure an extremely colourful personal life that includes film and theatre legends, popstars and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic. As yet the arch-gossip has not been persuaded to spill the beans about his unofficial as well as official encounters with the famous.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer, journalist and collector. Born in Calcutta, India he moved with his family back to their native England in the mid-1960s. After reading history at King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
he started work as a financial journalist before moving into gossip which better suited his talent since childhood for "collecting" famous people. In 1978 he became editor of Londoner's Diary in the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
for four years and in the following decade worked successively for Tatler
Tatler
Tatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
, the Daily Telegraph and Robert Maxwell's short-lived London Daily News.
Through his more conventional collecting he curated from 1978 pioneering exhibitions of his favourite subjects - ceramics designer Susie Cooper
Susie Cooper
Susie Cooper was a prolific English ceramic designer working in the Stoke-on-Trent pottery industries from the 1920s to the 1980s.-Life and work:Born in Stanfields, Stoke-on-Trent, she was the youngest of seven children...
, graphic artist Beresford Egan
Beresford Egan
Beresford Egan was born in London and raised from the age of five in South Africa. He returned to London in July 1926 after spending two years as a precocious sports cartoonist on the Rand Daily Mail. He quickly established himself in the artistic and literary atmosphere of London. He not only...
and surrealist photographer Angus McBean
Angus McBean
Angus McBean , was a Welsh photographer, associated with surrealism.-Biography:Angus McBean was born in South Wales in June 1904. Despite the surname and the family's claim to be head of the sub-clan McBean, they had been Welsh for generations. Clem McBean was a surveyor in the mines and the family...
- and published full-length biographies of all three. With Angus McBean
Angus McBean
Angus McBean , was a Welsh photographer, associated with surrealism.-Biography:Angus McBean was born in South Wales in June 1904. Despite the surname and the family's claim to be head of the sub-clan McBean, they had been Welsh for generations. Clem McBean was a surveyor in the mines and the family...
he also wrote Vivien: A Love Affair in Camera about Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
.
From the 1990s garden and architectural history have been his staples in Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
and other magazines. He was initiator of the Capability Brown birthplace museum at Kirkharle, Northumberland in 2000 and is acknowledged champion of the reputation of the 17th century architect and designer John Smithson
John Smithson
John Smithson is a British film and television producer. He is Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Director of Darlow Smithson Productions. He works closely with top broadcasting commissioners in the UK, US and around the world.-Family:...
.
These professional notices should not obscure an extremely colourful personal life that includes film and theatre legends, popstars and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic. As yet the arch-gossip has not been persuaded to spill the beans about his unofficial as well as official encounters with the famous.