Fragile Beauty is a major exhibition of twentieth- and twenty-first-century photography, on loan from the private collections of Sir Elton John and David Furnish. It opened this week at the V&A museum in London and it’s a highlight of the cultural and photography week. The unveiling of the exhibition coincides with Photo London (until Sunday 19th May), the leading fair dedicated to the medium of photography.

“Sometimes in tragic images, whether it’s paintings or photographs, there’s a lot of beauty. And that’s why the show’s called Fragile Beauty, because there’s beauty in everything.” the music icon said about this wonderful collection.

This incredible collection has more than three hundred rare photographs from 140 photographers and it’s stunning. The photographs are era-defining images that examine the strength and vulnerability inherent in the human condition. They were chosen from a collection of over seven thousand images, many of which are on exhibit for the first time in public. Included is work by Tyler Mitchell, Nan Goldin, Robert Mapplethorpe, Eve Arnold, Sally Mann and many other luminaries. In a nutshell, it’s got everything. This fantastic show will remain on view until 5 January 2025.

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Images: Untitled Film Still #17, 1978 by Cindy Sherman, who David Furnish says shows “what women have to become, the roles they have to play” and Robert Mapplethorpe’s Poppy,1988, is a metaphor for a brief and fragile beauty