CAMBRIDGE.- Part of the University of Cambridge’s celebration of its 800th anniversary, this exhibition of photographic portraits by accomplished Cambridge photographer Howard Guest offers an intriguing insight into the working life of one of the world’s most celebrated academic institutions.
‘On the Shoulders of Giants’: Portraits from the University of Cambridge captures a diverse range of University academics, students and staff in their working environment. This personal approach emphasises the significance of the individual in the University’s internationally acclaimed work, and Howard Guest’s privileged access to a wide range of people and places illuminates areas of University life that have previously remained unseen by many.

Featured in the exhibition are Professor Stephen Hawking, Vice-Chancellor Professor Alison Richard and Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society Lord Rees of Ludlow, as well as students, lecturers, porters, surgeons and a glass blower. Subjects are shown in locations as varied as the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charles Darwin’s rooms in Christ’s College, the Fitzwilliam Museum’s own conservation studio and a tower sealed for decades after scientists split the atom. Many of these portraits provide visitors with a glimpse of locations that are otherwise rarely seen by the public.

Howard Guest said “Cambridge is full of people who are expanding the boundaries of human knowledge every day. Capturing that world on film has been an astonishing adventure.”

‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ is the Museum’s first photographic exhibition, and acts as a unique visual record of the modern University of Cambridge. It is supported by Cambridge University Press and accompanied by a special publication, a virtual exhibition and a podcast; visit www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk for details. Howard Guest will talk about his work in the exhibition on Thursday 3 July.