The definitive monograph on the work of internationally acclaimed artist and filmmaker, this book explores Sam Taylor-Johnson’s distinctive approach to capturing the essence of the self within her photographic work.

“That is what it is to take a photograph – a portrait of somebody. It’s knowing and seeing, in the briefest of ethereal moments, something like a secret you have found. There’s the hit of a button and the steal of an eye, and all the history that belongs to it has been passed on. Gifted and taken.”

Sam Taylor-Johnson

From her earliest self-portraits as a student at Goldsmiths to her intimate film-portrayals of the musical icons John Lennon and Amy Winehouse and the record-breaking adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey, Taylor-Johnson has consistently investigated the nature of selfhood, using both photography and film to create bold, psychologically rich portraits.

SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON: THE SELF AND THE PORTRAIT captures the evolution of her vision—from the quiet intensity of her celebrated Crying Men series to the acrobatic vitality of her iconic “floating” self-portraits. A new series of self-portraits, Self-Portrait in Dark Water, offers an expansive and profound look at an artist whose innovative engagement with image-making continues to shape contemporary visual culture.

Sam Taylor-Johnson, Bram Stoker’s Chair II, 2005

Drawing from her extensive archive, SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON: THE SELF AND THE PORTRAIT features portraits of actors, artists and musicians including Burna Boy, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tracey Emin, Rachel Feinstein, Laurence Fishburne, Maggi Hambling, Philip Seymour-Hoffman, Courtney Love, Alexander McQueen, Miuccia Prada, Benicio del Toro, Florence Welch, and Forest Whitaker.

Curated and accompanied by new writing by Taylor-Johnson herself, the book celebrates the pictures that, seen together, reveal a career-long inquiry into what constitutes a portrait and how identity can be expressed, staged, disrupted, or reimagined.

The acclaimed American photojournalist Lynsey Addario has contributed an essay that explores how the power of Taylor-Johnson’s gaze and her authenticity come to define her portraits.

Tracey Emin’s insightful text reflects on their 30 years of friendship, and a deep artistic connection established at the outset of their careers. Paying homage to Taylor-Johnson’s singular determination, “even when faced with the perils life can throw”, Emin writes with her characteristic candidness, offering a deeply personal perspective on Sam Taylor-Johnson’s life and work and the significance of time and mortality within her practice.