Portraits of Londoners at home in the 1970s

We don’t know much about Hellebrand’s subjects. Mostly, the descriptions accompanying the images only state their names, their occupations and where and when the photograph was taken. This is “John Farrell, a building worker, West Hampstead, July 1973”. The photograph is titled Young father.

Sometimes we’re given a small piece of extra detail. Hellebrand titled this photograph Lotte recovering from an illness.

This 13-year-old subject looks into the camera, cigarette in hand.

Some of Hellebrand’s sitters are more well-known. Here, she captures the renowned photographer Bill Brandt. She studied photography with Brandt in London between 1971 and 1973, and he’s a huge influence on her work. This image is simply called Photographer. Perhaps this was how Brandt wanted to be identified.

“I was (and continue to be), driven by my desire to photograph the poignancy of ordinary people in their daily lives, not posing for the camera,” Hellebrand says. “The closer we look, the more important each individual becomes.”

Some of Hellebrand’s subjects seem a little standoffish. Others casually look out of frame. And then there’s Iris Collis, eyes shut in her bed.

Hellebrand photographed the series with a Hasselblad Super Wide camera, named for its wide-angle lens. The lens allowed Hellebrand to position the camera very close to the subject, and still include a lot of the backdrop of their homes.

These works were exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in her 1974 solo exhibition, Londoners At Home. This was Hellebrand’s first solo exhibition – and the gallery’s first by an American artist and a living woman.