Picture: Annie Leibovitz (right) collects her award from RPS president Rosemary Wilman
Credit: Vanessa Slawson
Photographer Annie Leibovitz said she plans more trips to the White House after collecting the Royal Photographic Society (RPS)’s top accolade at an awards ceremony in central London last night.
Leibovitz picked up the RPS Centenary Medal, an award given in recognition of a ‘sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography’.
Speaking to Amateur Photographer after the presentation, held at the Royal Society, Leibovitz said she plans further visits to the White House as part of her ongoing project with United States President Barack Obama.
As we reported last month, Leibovitz was the photographer behind the first official Obama family portrait.
The photographer’s long list of famous subjects have also included the Queen.
Asked how she focused on her photography in the presence of royalty Leibovitz told AP’s news editor: ‘I have an advantage. I am American.’
She explained that this allowed her to ‘step back’ from her subject a little.
Leibovitz this year became the subject of mass media attention when it emerged that she risked losing the rights to her lifetime’s work.
Leibovitz had reportedly borrowed around £15m from New York firm, Art Capital, using the rights to her photographic archive and the value of her properties as collateral.
She is said to have avoided losing copyright in her images after being given more time to pay off the loan.
However, it seems that concentrating on her photography is helping to keep her mind off the negative headlines.
‘I am happy doing exactly what I am doing? I can do this the rest of my life,’ she had told the RPS earlier. ‘It’s only going to get better.’
