Gérard Castello-Lopes (Portuguese, 1925-2011)

Gérard Castello-Lopes was the representative par excellence of the golden generation of Portuguese photography which emerged in the 1950s. Born in Vichy (France), in 1925, Castello-Lopes divided his time between Portugal and France. He made his mark not only on cinema (both as a critic, actor, production assistant and manager at Filmes Castello Lopes), but also on photography and jazz (he was the co-founder of Hot Clube de Portugal in 1948) in Portugal. Alongside the likes of Sena da Silva and Carlos Afonso Dias, Castello-Lopes significantly raised the profile of Portuguese photography in the mid-twentieth century. And yet the majority of his work remained unknown until its discovery by the Ether Gallery (Lisbon) in the early 1980s. Unlike his counterparts, Gérard Castello-Lopes returned to photography to superb effect in 1982, and continued to create and exhibit works until 2008.

Image on the right: Gérard Castello Lopes, 1962, Praia da Salema, Algarve ©João Cutileiro