The photograph Don McCullin never showed Britain: his only self-portrait, hidden among Roman statues

When Don McCullin stepped into Crowthers Reclamation Yard in Isleworth in 1963, surrounded by broken Roman busts and weathered statuary, he was already establishing his reputation as a photographer documenting conflict and urban decay. What he captured that day – his only self-portrait – has never been exhibited in the UK. Until now.

The image seems oddly prophetic. This was McCullin at the height of his war photography years. Yet here he is, immersed in the classical antiquities that would become a significant preoccupation decades later.

The self-portrait will be unveiled as part of an exhibition titled Don McCullin. 90, at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Bruton, UK. For photography enthusiasts, this offers a rare opportunity to trace the entire arc of McCullin's seven-decade career.

What makes the 1963 self-portrait particularly compelling is its prescience. McCullin was then best known for visceral images of gang culture, poverty, and war zones. Yet this photograph, taken at a salvage yard filled with Roman sculpture, hints at an aesthetic sensibility that wouldn't fully emerge until decades later.

Fast forward to his Southern Frontiers series, a 25-year survey of Roman Empire remains, and the connection becomes clear. The 90-year-old photographer has spent recent years documenting broken classical sculptures in museums worldwide, work that forms the centrepiece of a concurrent exhibition, Broken Beauty, at The Holburne Museum, Bath. Those ancient, fragmented faces echo the statuary crowd that witnessed his 1963 self-portrait.

McCullin himself has articulated why these sculptures matter to him: "These are the best antidote to the grim realities of the front line," he said. "I hold in awe the mouldering stone, the fragments of dreams and the mysteries of the vanquished past." Looking at that 1963 self-portrait, it's as if he instinctively understood this therapeutic relationship with antiquities, decades before he could name it.

Conflict to contemplation

The twin exhibitions showcase McCullin's remarkable range. The Holburne Museum show presents his most recent Roman sculpture studies (not previously shown in the UK), made using ink-jet printing that gives the images extraordinary physical presence. This technical choice is significant: bridging contemporary digital output with ancient subjects.

"Over the years going to various wars, this corner of Somerset has saved and restored my sanity," McCullin has said. His black-and-white Somerset landscapes reveal a photographer who understands place's redemptive power. His still lifes, composed in his garden shed, draw inspiration from Flemish and Dutch masters; a different philosophy of photography entirely.

The Roman sculptures at The Holburne Museum, broken survivors from the ancient world, offer their own commentary. These fragmented statues possess a dignity that perhaps only someone who has witnessed human suffering could truly recognise and honour.

And ultimately that 1963 self-portrait, finally getting its UK debut, serves as the connecting thread. McCullin surrounded by ancient faces, at once present and timeless, documenting and documented. It's an image that photographers of any genre might study; not just for its formal qualities, but for what it reveals about creative evolution. 

Sometimes, it seems, a photograph knows more about the photographer's future than the photographer does themselves.

Don McCullin. 90 runs February 14 -April 12 at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Bruton.
Don McCullin: Broken Beauty runs until May 4 at The Holburne Museum, Bath.