David Bailey

David Bailey: The Pin-Ups Contact Sheets

HENI is delighted to present The Pin-Ups Contact Sheets, an exhibition celebrating David Bailey’s iconic 1965 portfolio Box of Pin-Ups, a defining moment in photographic history. 36 original contact sheets from the series will be unveiled to the public, presented alongside a selection of photographic prints and a copy of the original Box of Pin-Ups publication. The exhibition will run from 17 to 31 July 2026 at HENI Gallery.

Originally published in 1965, Bailey’s Box of Pin-Ups remains a landmark illustration of the Swinging Sixties. The portfolio of 36 black-and-white portraits features the era's most iconic figures, including Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Michael Caine, the Kray brothers and David Hockney. The collection famously includes only four women, a choice justified by the original portfolio text: "In the age of Mick Jagger, it is the boys who are the pin-ups." Emerging from a radical period in London, Bailey’s Box of Pin-Ups captures this historical moment through images of the city’s key cultural figures. These images did more than just document their subjects; they became the defining portraits of a generation.

This exhibition will mark the first time Bailey’s original contact sheets are offered for sale, providing a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire previously unreleased material from the project. The contact sheets offer unprecedented access to the unseen context behind the portfolio’s creation, featuring photographs from those legendary sittings that have never been seen before. In addition to the historical contact sheets and the original 1965 portfolio, the presentation will feature a selection of Bailey’s photographic prints from 1990 to 2009 and new prints published by HENI Editions.

The works from the exhibition will be available for purchase exclusively through HENI from 16 July 2026. Register your interest below to be notified when the artworks become available.

Exhibition Details

David Bailey: The Pin-Ups Contact Sheets
Exhibition dates: 17–31 July 2026
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am–6pm
Address: 6–10 Lexington Street, London W1F 0LB
Admission: Free entry

About David Bailey

David Bailey was born on 2 January 1938 in North Leyton, East London. Whilst posted in Singapore with the Royal Air Force he bought his first camera and was inspired to be a photographer after seeing Cartier Bresson’s photograph, Kashmir. Bailey started working with fashion photographer John French as his assistant in 1959 and the following year he published his first portrait of Somerset Maugham for Today magazine.

Discarding the rigid rules of a previous generation of portrait and fashion photographers, Bailey channelled the energy of London's newly informal street culture into his work. In 1965 he published Box of Pin-Ups, which is now seen as having defined an era and shaped the future of photography. Bailey’s career has been varied, including directing commercials, and he has been recognised internationally for his skills as a filmmaker, including winning an Emmy. Bailey has exhibited worldwide and has produced some of the most famous photographic portraits of the last six decades.