Black and white. Dark and bright. Light and shadow. Reflections on the water, the streets and the sidewalks of Amsterdam’s Prinsengracht, a picture taken from Suschitzky’s flat after a rain shower; the Thames embankments in snow on a sunny winter’s day, with the Houses of Parliament visible in the distance; the sun setting in the nets of the fishing boats of Camara de Lobos; marks that seem to have virtually been burnt into the rock of the Acropolis; light and shade transforming a street into the light and dark squares of a chessboard; the view from the bedroom of a pub onto the newly paved main street of Oldham near Manchester. “I liked the trace of tramlines which had been removed. The light was just right and the only man about was in the right place.”
The photograph of Aldous Huxley with his eyes closed is Suschitzky’s favourite picture of the writer: “It conveys some of the fact that he had suffered most of his life with eye trouble. He went to live in California, where the light was brighter.” The picture was taken in Aldous’ brother Julian Huxley’s house. It was Julian Huxley, too, who told Suschitzky that Guy, the gorilla, was the most impressive animal he had ever encountered. “Guy became a celebrity and was a great favourite with the public. There still is a life-size statute of him at London Zoo. Guy was popular because of his dignity and intelligence. I think the best picture I got was this one where the shadows of the bars fell over his face. It brings home the frightful fate of such an animal being kept in a small cage (in those days), a prisoner behind bars.”