<p>George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was the only person to receive both the Nobel Prize and an Academy Award in the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. Although he accepted the Nobel Prize, he declined the accompanying prize money. In 1938, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Pygmalion.</p>.<p>Shaw’s life and work encompassed many facets. As an influential playwright of his time, he achieved international fame and popularity.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Often regarded as the greatest British dramatist since Shakespeare, he was also a master of prose style and a key precursor to the Theatre of the Absurd.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In addition to writing plays, he was a music and literary critic, a fervent socialist, a public intellectual, an eloquent orator, and an advocate for social causes. He was known for his sharp wit, humour, and commitment to promoting vegetarianism. A lesser-known aspect of his personality was his deep enthusiasm for photography.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Dublin-born playwright passed away in 1950 at the age of 94 after falling from an apple tree in his home in the English village of Ayot St. Lawrence, Hertfordshire. By the time of his death, he had amassed an extensive collection of photographs — over 10,000 prints and 10,000 negatives — taken by himself and others. The collection included formal studio portraits, holiday snapshots, and portraits of friends, artists, admirers, and visitors. Shaw bequeathed the entire collection to the National Trust, and it currently resides in the archives of the London School of Economics. (Shaw was one of the founding figures of LSE in 1894).</p>.<p class="bodytext">He cultivated a passion for the arts at a young age. “I always wanted to draw and paint,” he revealed in an interview. “I had no literary ambition. I aspired to be a Michelangelo, not a Shakespeare. But I could not draw well enough to satisfy myself, and the instruction I could get was worse than useless. So when dry plates and push buttons came onto the market, I bought a box camera and began pushing the button.” While a simple box camera in 1898 sparked his interest, he became an avid photographer in the following years. By the 1930s, he was proficient in operating a Leica camera using 35mm film. His devotion to photography drove him to experiment with different camera models until he passed away in 1950.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Long before he began practising photography, Shaw wrote critical articles and reviews about the London photographic scene for prominent journals and newspapers. His writings contained keen observations, sharp insights, and strong opinions. He also formed friendships with some of the best art photographers of his time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He became a staunch supporter of art photography at a critical juncture in its history. He viewed it as an ideal medium for presenting a more accurate depiction of the human form and expressed this belief on many occasions. He consistently encouraged other photographers to remain committed to the inherent qualities of the camera and the photochemical process and to focus on the intrinsic content of their images. He stressed that negatives with technical proficiency, marked by sharp focus and well-defined tonalities, were essential to achieve high-quality photography. The goal of a photographer, he insisted, was not merely to convey information or provide ‘pretty views and striking sunsets’ but rather to ‘drive at the poetic’ and create an image that ‘plunges you into a mood.’</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shaw had a practical approach to aesthetics. He believed in the essential simplicity of art, its capacity to engage with core experiences and concepts of life, and its ability to resonate with people. He famously stated, “I would willingly exchange every single painting of Christ for one snapshot.” In his own artistic practice, he experimented with lighting and early colour printing, creating well-composed photographs that required meticulous planning and the stillness of his subjects. Prolific in his work, he captured images of the Irish peasantry, the rugged Irish countryside, and many prominent figures of his time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As a dedicated practitioner of self-portraiture, he produced numerous images that ranged from solemn to whimsical. He took pictures of himself in classical poses, both nude and clothed. Some historians also feel that Shaw cleverly utilised art photography for self-promotion.</p>
<p>George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was the only person to receive both the Nobel Prize and an Academy Award in the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. Although he accepted the Nobel Prize, he declined the accompanying prize money. In 1938, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Pygmalion.</p>.<p>Shaw’s life and work encompassed many facets. As an influential playwright of his time, he achieved international fame and popularity.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Often regarded as the greatest British dramatist since Shakespeare, he was also a master of prose style and a key precursor to the Theatre of the Absurd.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In addition to writing plays, he was a music and literary critic, a fervent socialist, a public intellectual, an eloquent orator, and an advocate for social causes. He was known for his sharp wit, humour, and commitment to promoting vegetarianism. A lesser-known aspect of his personality was his deep enthusiasm for photography.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Dublin-born playwright passed away in 1950 at the age of 94 after falling from an apple tree in his home in the English village of Ayot St. Lawrence, Hertfordshire. By the time of his death, he had amassed an extensive collection of photographs — over 10,000 prints and 10,000 negatives — taken by himself and others. The collection included formal studio portraits, holiday snapshots, and portraits of friends, artists, admirers, and visitors. Shaw bequeathed the entire collection to the National Trust, and it currently resides in the archives of the London School of Economics. (Shaw was one of the founding figures of LSE in 1894).</p>.<p class="bodytext">He cultivated a passion for the arts at a young age. “I always wanted to draw and paint,” he revealed in an interview. “I had no literary ambition. I aspired to be a Michelangelo, not a Shakespeare. But I could not draw well enough to satisfy myself, and the instruction I could get was worse than useless. So when dry plates and push buttons came onto the market, I bought a box camera and began pushing the button.” While a simple box camera in 1898 sparked his interest, he became an avid photographer in the following years. By the 1930s, he was proficient in operating a Leica camera using 35mm film. His devotion to photography drove him to experiment with different camera models until he passed away in 1950.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Long before he began practising photography, Shaw wrote critical articles and reviews about the London photographic scene for prominent journals and newspapers. His writings contained keen observations, sharp insights, and strong opinions. He also formed friendships with some of the best art photographers of his time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He became a staunch supporter of art photography at a critical juncture in its history. He viewed it as an ideal medium for presenting a more accurate depiction of the human form and expressed this belief on many occasions. He consistently encouraged other photographers to remain committed to the inherent qualities of the camera and the photochemical process and to focus on the intrinsic content of their images. He stressed that negatives with technical proficiency, marked by sharp focus and well-defined tonalities, were essential to achieve high-quality photography. The goal of a photographer, he insisted, was not merely to convey information or provide ‘pretty views and striking sunsets’ but rather to ‘drive at the poetic’ and create an image that ‘plunges you into a mood.’</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shaw had a practical approach to aesthetics. He believed in the essential simplicity of art, its capacity to engage with core experiences and concepts of life, and its ability to resonate with people. He famously stated, “I would willingly exchange every single painting of Christ for one snapshot.” In his own artistic practice, he experimented with lighting and early colour printing, creating well-composed photographs that required meticulous planning and the stillness of his subjects. Prolific in his work, he captured images of the Irish peasantry, the rugged Irish countryside, and many prominent figures of his time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As a dedicated practitioner of self-portraiture, he produced numerous images that ranged from solemn to whimsical. He took pictures of himself in classical poses, both nude and clothed. Some historians also feel that Shaw cleverly utilised art photography for self-promotion.</p>