CHRISTOPHER LITTLE

Christopher Little is a Connecticut-based photographer who has amassed an extensive portfolio of public personalities from President-elect Joe Biden to Oprah and John Lennon over his career working as a freelance photographer for People, Life, and the New York Times. Little’s work has been published in most major news publications including Newsweek, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Elle, GQ, Forbes, and Entertainment Weekly among many others. Official Photographer to His Highness the Aga Khan from 1980 to 1983, Little traveled to China, Yemen, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Pakistan, India, The Seychelles, Indonesia, Ireland, England, Italy, Switzerland, and France while documenting the people and scenes he encountered along the way. In addition to his freelance career, Little has also exhibited his work in shows at the Yale School of Art and Architecture, Cincinnati Art Museum, and International Center of Photography.

As I’ve thumbed through my collection in the hope of finding it a permanent home, I realize what I have: an unusually broad cultural and political history from the late 60s through the 90s.

My childhood dream of becoming a photojournalist had come true earlier than I expected. Between 1967 and 1971, I was an undergraduate at Yale. The campus was exploding with news: Vietnam war protests, coeducation, and an event that captured the country’s attention—the New Haven murder trial of Black Panther Bobby Seale and the unrest surrounding it. Newsweek started giving me regular assignments. Graduation led to a freelance career. My first major assignment was covering the Watergate hearings for Time.

In the years that followed I was lucky enough to photograph the major celebrities and political figures of the day. Presidents, kings, queens, prime ministers. Actors, writers, artists, athletes, musicians. Thousands of assignments.

It wasn’t until this recent review process that I recognized the value of my collection.

— Christopher Little

Personalities

International

Video Interview

In November of 2020, PCPP’s Leonian Intern, Ayesha Kazim, sat down with photographer Christopher Little to discuss his life’s work. The virtual interview covers Little’s experiences serving as official photographer to His Highness the Aga Khan, visiting musician, Johnny Cash’s secret cabin in the woods, and browsing through the closet of President George H.W. Bush. Listen to the photographer recount those stories and more below.

Placement at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History

In November of 2021, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History acquired a significant collection of work by Connecticut-based photographer Christopher Little. The collection consists of photographs, negatives, transparencies, contact sheets, ephemera items, and digital materials that spans over 39 years (1972-2011) of Little’s career as an esteemed photojournalist. In the Center’s press release announcing the acquisition, Executive Director Don Carlton remarked “Little is known for his compelling portraits of notable people from all walks of life. Beyond the glamour of his celebrity images, however, lies a diverse range of subjects with a truly global perspective, which will provide rich material for future research.” See PCPP’s press release announcing the placement here. The collection will become available to researchers once it has been processed by the Briscoe Center. Below are images taken during the moving process from Little’s studio in Connecticut to the Briscoe Center in Austin, Texas.