David Yarrow
Dancing on Ice
2024

About the Item

Dancing on Ice St. Moritz, Switzerland - 2024 Archival Pigment Print on 315gsm Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta Paper. Available Sizes: Standard 24" x 78" Unframed 39" x 93" Framed Edition of 20 Large 31" x 103" Unframed 46" x 118" Framed Edition of 20 “The lake below the celebrated and historic Swiss community of St Moritz has been hosting sports events for 150 years; sailing in the summer months and, of course, all sorts of activities on the ice in the winter, the most spectacular and famous of which, is the White Turf racing festival held over three consecutive Sundays in February. I have been to St Moritz during this period several times over the years and the photograph I have had in mind to celebrate these fairy-tale races has never been possible because the weather hasn’t played ball. I wanted to visually glorify the amphitheatre as much as the racing itself and this required fresh snow. After a thaw, any winter town can look unexceptional, whereas after a snowfall it can look like a Disney movie or a winter wonderland from the pages of a story book. St Moritz is a sunny place and the sun facing slopes of the town and the surrounding trees can get a little messy and green after just one day of sun. From the far side of the lake, all the iconic grand hotels such as Badrutt’s Palace and the Kulm Hotel stand out, in all their glory along with the church spire and the famous old mountain railway. There can surely be no more glamorous a backdrop for a horse racetrack in the world, so long as there is fresh snow. But my needs were even more demanding than fresh snow. There had to be not just recent snow, but no falling snow, and then, if possible, I did not want the sun to be out, as, by the time the races started at 11.30am, the winter sunshine would make everything too stark. I struggle to tell a story in harsh light, as the aggressive tonal range can detract from what the artist wants to say. But I also wanted depth, so that there were layers in the photograph from the horses up front to the cable car high in the mountains in the background. To do this needed light, but just flat winter light. I woke that Sunday morning in town in February 2024 and saw my chance. It was still snowing, but the forecast was for it to stop by 11 am. The odds were always so low - one could wait many years to get these conditions on one of the three Sundays in February. But on 11 February 2024, it was all there for me and I took my chance. It’s fair to say that I have been thinking about my camera settings for many years on this shot. The photograph would not have been possible without the collaboration of Dennis Schiergen, who has been at the helm of the White Turf - either as a jockey or now as its lead official - for many years. He loves the image and that makes me happy. I guess it is visually arresting, but all I was doing was photographing what was in front of my camera; I was not doing anything special. It was my view of St Moritz that was exceptional. Anyone that knows St Moritz well can look at this image for a long time and tell their own stories of misadventures somewhere in the frame. We are all storytellers and I think this photograph will elicit many a tale of winters past.” - David Yarrow

Creator:
David Yarrow (1966, Scottish)
Creation Year:
2024
Dimensions:
Height: 71 in (180.34 cm)Width: 39 in (99.06 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
Medium:
Archival Pigment
Movement & Style:
Contemporary
Period:
2010-
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU388314000502
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David Yarrow

David Yarrow, born 1966 in Scotland, took up photography at an early age, as a 20-year-old he found himself working as a photographer for The London Times on the pitch at the World Cup Final in Mexico City. On that day, he took the sensationalized picture of Diego Maradona holding the World Cup and, as a result, was subsequently asked to cover the Olympics and numerous other high profile sporting events.

Many years later, Yarrow established himself as a fine art photographer by documenting the natural world from new perspectives and recent years have been career-defining for his mark on the world of contemporary fine art photography.

Yarrow’s evocative and immersive photography of life on earth is most distinctive and has earned him an ever-growing following among art collectors and celebrities. His distinct large monochrome images made in Los Angeles are on display in leading galleries and museums across Europe and North America. Yarrow is now recognized as one of the best-selling fine art photographers in the world and his limited edition works regularly sell at high prices at Sotheby’s and other auction houses.

In September 2019, Rizzoli published their second book by Yarrow, with a personal foreword written by global NFL star Tom Brady and thoughtful afterword written by American cultural icon and supermodel Cindy Crawford. All royalties from the book have been donated to conservation charities Tusk in the UK and WildAid in the US.

Yarrow's position in the industry has been rewarded with a wide range of advisory and ambassadorial roles. He is an ambassador for WildArk and The Kevin Richardson Foundation and is the European ambassador for Nikon. Yarrow has been integral to Nikon's most anticipated camera release of the last decade. In December 2017, he shot LVMH’s latest “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign with Cara Delevingne. In January 2019, he was appointed as a global ambassador for UBS. In the spring of 2020, Yarrow was appointed a global ambassador for Best Buddies – one of America’s most established children’s charities.

Yarrow became an ambassador for the African Community and Conservation Foundation and presented his work in the Endangered Rangers virtual fundraiser. At the start of 2020, Yarrow was in Australia documenting the devastating bush fires that have destroyed communities, wildlife and wildlands. Using the striking images that he captured of the effects of the fire, he launched the #KoalaComeback Campaign to support the recovery efforts in Australia. The campaign raised over $1.4 million, and as Yarrow continues to work for humanitarian causes, his steadfast determination continues to make positive change for the benefit of global awareness. Currently, Yarrow continues to create stunning imagery with lasting global impact and archival quality that speaks to his reverence for the art of photography in capturing the wonders of the world.

Find a collection of original David Yarrow photography on 1stDibs.