Michael Peto
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Michael Peto was one of the most successful photojournalists of the 1960s.
Michael was born in Bata, Hungary in 1908, and went to live in Budapest in the 1930’s. His work connected with the export of Hungarian craft products was instrumental in his reaching Britain. During the war he lived in London where he worked for the Ministry of Labour and zealously backed the war effort. Much of his spare time was devoted to planning, through the New Democratic Hungary headed by Count M Karolyi, to whom Peto was personal secretary, the establishment of a socialist Hungary after their homeland's liberation. They did not foresee the postwar domination by the USSR.
In the early post-war years Peto took up photography as a career and in 1949 joined The Observer. Much of his work reflects his subsequent travels throughout Europe, the Middle and Far East and India. He was awarded a bronze medal by the International Organisation of Journalists at Interpress-Foto at their 1960 meeting held in Berlin and was awarded a further bronze medal at the Budapest International Exposition of Photographic Art in 1970. Major exhibitions have been held of his work.
Peto's major interest lay in the study of the human form in its natural surroundings and is considered by some to be one of the supreme masters of this aspect of photographic art. Many famous figures from the worlds of politics, art and entertainment are featured in his work, such as The Beatles, and some of these photographs are especially unique.
Over 40 photographs taken of The Beatles taken during the filming of HELP! in 1965, came to light during the digitisation of Michale Peto’s collection of 130,000 prints and negatives, donated by his family to the University of Dundee following his death in 1970. The University is now the custodian of the Michael Peto photographic collection.
The other major aspect of his work involved the arts in the 1950s and 1960s and especially the London Ballet scene around the time of the arrival of Rudolf Nureyev.
He died on Christmas Day, 1970, aged of 62.
