Two Leaders, One Week: Portraits from the United Nations

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His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan (Rory Lewis Political Portrait Photographer) 2016

Some weeks stay with you. This one, at the United Nations in New York, is among them.

During this year's General Assembly I had the privilege of photographing two leaders I have had the honour of sitting before my camera in the past: His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Andy Burnham.

Political portraiture at an event of this kind is its own discipline. There is no studio, no luxury of time, and very little control over the room. The work becomes a matter of reading the light that is available, anticipating the moment, and finding stillness in a space built for movement and noise. The Old Masters I return to again and again, Holbein at the Tudor court, Van Dyck with Charles I, understood this well. A portrait of a person in power is never just a likeness. It is a record of authority, of burden, and occasionally of something more private that slips through.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham (Rory Lewis Political Portrait Photographer) 2016

To photograph King Abdullah again carries particular meaning for me, given my ongoing work with the Royal Hashemite Court. And with Andy Burnham's appointment this summer, he became the fifth British Prime Minister I have photographed, following John Major, Tony Blair, David Cameron, and Theresa May. It is a lineage I never set out to build, but one I am deeply grateful for.

My thanks to everyone who made these sittings possible. A selection of the images will follow in due course.

For portrait commissions in Los Angeles, London, and New York, contact RL@RORYLEWIS.STUDIO or +1 (213) 895-7372.