Christine Keeler, Lewis MorleyScandals and Photographers
In 1963 MacMillian's Secretary of State for War John Profumo had an affair with a call girl named Christine Keeler, who at much the same time was sleeping with a Russian assistant Naval Attache Eugene Ivanov. Profumo denied intimacy with Keeler to parliament, and when the truth emerged was forced to resign. The Naval officer was called back to Moscow and never heard from again. Apparently, Christine Keeler also had an affair with the Pakistani ruler Ayub, who quickly returned to Pakistan after the scandal broke. Christine was subject to a murder attempt by her boyfriend and landed in jail for 9 months on Dec. 6, 1963. She is probably best know in the pose made famous by the British photographer Lewis Morley in his 1963 portrait (shown here) of her. Her legs are astride a chair in the classic love making posture, but the chair's back is an effective barrier. The chair is a version of Arne Jacobsen's 1952 Ant chair, a hot, sexy design at the time.
Recently she spoke out in an autobiography -- almost forty years later. She is a seemingly normal English grandmother figure with quite a story to tell.
This is Christine Keeler, centre point of a famous scandal in Britain in the 50s. The photo is by the wonderful photographer, Lewis Morley, now living and still working in Sydney, Australia. His shop is West on Paramatta Rd., nr. 76, just before Leichhard, and is called "Photo-antiques 76".
March 29, 2000 Email Ernst, Home