An exhibition of portraits and photographs by photojournalist Michael Peto (1908-70) has been specially curated from The Peto Collection held by the University of Dundee, for display in the Parliament.
The selected images form a powerful portrait of social, cultural and political life during the 1950s and 1960s. Peto photographed many world political figures, including Nelson Mandela, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Jawaharlal Nehru, Nikita Khrushchev, Francisco Franco and Winston Churchill.
Many UK politicians, Jennie Lee, Aneurin Bevan, Tony Benn, Edward Heath, Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan, are also represented in the collection, with political activists including Hugh MacDiarmid, Vanessa Redgrave, Ian McKellen and John Lennon.
Born in Hungary, Peto left the country of his birth for London in 1939. His photography was first published in The Observer in 1949. As well as documenting social issues and power brokers, Peto became a distinctive observer of performers and is perhaps best-known for his images of ballet dancers Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn.
The exhibition is open Monday to Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm, until 22 August 2015, admission free.
www.dundee.ac.uk/peto
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Peto Exhibition
Scottish Parliament Assistant Chief Executive, Ken Hughes, and Patricia Whatley, University Archivist at the University of Dundee pictured at he media launch of the Michael Peto: Politics in Focus Exhibition
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Peto Exhibition
A man browses the Michael Peto: Politics in Focus Exhibition
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The Michael Peto: Politics in Focus exhibition
Image of Michael Peto © University of Dundee, The Peto Collection. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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Peto Exhibition
The Michael Peto: Politics in Focus exhibition
Image of Indira Gandhi © University of Dundee, The Peto Collection. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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Peto Exhibition
The Michael Peto: Politics in Focus exhibition.
Image of John Lennon © University of Dundee, The Peto Collection. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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The Michael Peto: Politics in Focus exhibition.
Image of Vanessa Redgrave © University of Dundee, The Peto Collection. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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Peto Exhibition
The Michael Peto: Politics in Focus exhibition
Image of Nelson Mandela © University of Dundee, The Peto Collection. Not to be reproduced without permission.