Keith McMillan

Keith Lionel McMillan (16 April 1934 – 22 March 2012) was an English photographer and artist.

Early life Born in Cuckfield, Sussex, he came from a family with many artistic talents: his mother was a dancer, his father a pianist and photographer, and his brother an artist. As a child, McMillan demonstrated a love for music and athletics, so his mother enrolled him in ballet at the age of eight.

Ballet career Here he met and became a protégé of Dame Margot Fonteyn who nurtured his career. Other principal dancers in the Ballet at this time were Rudolph Nureyev, Sir Robert Helpmann, Alexander Grant OBE, Michael Somes, David Blair, Maura Sheera, Nadia Nareda, Beryl Grey. "Silvia", The Rite of Spring, La Fille Mal Gardee, The Firebird, and Le Baiser De La Fee.

Military service His ballet career was disrupted in 1952, when Madam De Valois—responding to an accusation that Royal Ballet dancers were not being called up for the military—volunteered McMillan, John Sail, and others. McMillan spent two years in the Royal Army Medical Corps at Tidworth—and later at Didcot, where he ran an MRS for soldiers injured in the Korean War.

Photography career Keith's second love, photography was encouraged by Dame Margot. He photographed her with Rudolph Nureyev, Sir Robert Helpmann, and many others. Through this association he met and befriended Tony Armstrong-Jones (Lord Snowdon). This introduction led to McMillan presenting his photographs to The Sunday Times, which commissioned him to photograph theatrical and ballet stars. His first commission was to photograph Rudolph Nureyev.

From 1965 to 1997 he worked for many magazines. On 27 April 1968, he photographed the Queen and her family on her birthday for the Illustrated London News front page. Other magazines he shot for during this time include Avenue, The Dancing Times, London Life, Harpers Bazaar, Harpers & Queen, Vogue, Direct Response, Apple Computers, Time Out, Radio Times, Lion News, Daily Express, The Viewer, Envoy, Accountancy Age, RIBA Journal, Intercity Magazine, and Dobell’s Record Sleeves.

During this time he was sent to Europe and the US to photograph many famous people—including Tom Jones, Sir Keith Richards, Roy Orbison, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Henry Moore, and Man Ray.

McMillan joined Haymarket Publications in 1972 under Michael Heseltine, who had started an advertising industry magazine called Campaign. McMillan was the magazine's first photographer. He developed his own style of corporate photography, and worked for 26 years as Campaign's chief photographer. The magazine still uses his photos today.

Through commissions and other assignments, he met many luminaries in the advertising industry and attended the Advertising Industries Award Festival at Cannes. Charles Saatchi and Maurice Saatchi commissioned him to photograph themselves and their famous parties. He was recognised as the corporate photographer, and photographed all the British Prime Ministers and Blue Chip industry CEO's, plus many artists.

The artist From an early age, McMillan discovered he had artistic ability—sketching abstract dancers and scenes for the ballets he danced in. He commenced his 'discovery of art' in the 1950s, and was always fascinated with the world of the great artists who lived and painted in the 1920s. He loved art deco, and the modern painting made famous by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Bauhaus design.

McMillan studied Art at Bromley University. He learned welding to make sculptures at Greenwich. His first trip to Australia in 1993 with his partner Janece Hemensley introduced him to a new range of shapes and colours as he travelled to various parts of Australia. He was looking for somewhere to settle and commence painting seriously to create his own style. He continually photographed landscapes, trees, plants, animals, and everything that made Australia his home.

Personal life McMillan lived and worked in London until 1997 when he emigrated to Australia in September of that year, married Janece his partner of 9 years in December 1999, lived and painted at his studio on the Ravenshoe Tablelands, enjoying time off at his Cairns residence. He was diagnosed with cancer in January 2010 and died in March 2012, after which his widow Janece McMillan sold his art privately and following an exhibition at Artworld Gallery Cairns. He had two children: Alexandra McMillan, who was named after his best friend, Alexander Grant OBE, and Linnet Stembridge, and 2 grandchildren, Veronique and Alexandra. Alexandra has followed in her grandfather's footsteps and is a ballet dancer.