Markus Klinko sells entire archive of photos featuring Beyonce, David Bowie and Billie Eilish

Name a world-renowned celebrity and they can most likely be found portrayed in Markus Klinko’s glossy-as-heck portfolio. He shot Beyoncé for the iconic cover of her first solo album, Dangerously in Love, Mariah Carey for the cover of The Emancipation of Mimi, plus Kanye, Britney and Lady Gaga. He also did David Bowie’s last large-scale shoot before his passing, and last year revealed incredible unseen photos from that shoot, taken for his 2002 Heathen album.

Now, the photographer is selling the entirety of that star-studded archive to raise money for NHS Charities Together, as part of Taglialatella Galleries’ Art for Relief campaign from 16-22 April. The images include a portrait of Beyoncé from the aforementioned singular album, plus depictions of Billie Eilish, Alicia Keys, Naomi Campbell, Pamela Anderson and Kate Winslet. Also included is a series of 12 thoughtful, black-and-white photographs of David Bowie titled Smoking. Klinko’s final shoot with Bowie took place just after 9/11 in a studio less than a mile from the disaster site, and therefore the photographer chose to include this series as he has seen “striking similarity in mood and outlook” between that time and the Covid-19 crisis.

Klinko explains to It’s Nice That this donation of his works is one of the ways he is trying to adapt his work and approach to our current situation. “The lockdown is definitely having a huge impact on my work. The type of photography I do involves teams of stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists, etc in addition to the models and celebrities in front of the lens. So I’m using this time for planning future shoots and researching ideas, as well as archiving previous work – something that I never had time for before. I’m also using the time to find ways to raise funds for coronavirus-related charities as well as providing some entertainment via virtual exhibitions.”

“It’s lovely to see how the creative community has come together during this crisis,” he continues, “creating work inspired by it, raising money for charities, and providing workshops and online tutorials to entertain and lift the spirits of people on lockdown.”

Klinko will donate ten per cent of sales to NHS Charities Together to support NHS staff and volunteers caring for Covid-19 patients. He previously photographed the Keep A Child Alive campaign showing celebrities in coffins, which raised over $1 million for children with AIDS in just a few days.