Afternoon at Palazzo Altemps
Simon Watson

For over three decades Simon Watson has exhibited both his photographs and paintings in Europe and the U.S. His work is included in museums, public and private collections. Watson has been a regular contributor to The New York Times T Magazine, Vogue, W Magazine, Vanity Fair and The World of Interiors. His most recent books were, The Lives of Others (Rizzoli, 2020) and Portrait of a House (Dürer Editions, 2021).

In his next book Afternoon at Palazzo Altemps, Watson explores the sublime fifteenth-century palazzo in Rome. The building, which houses significant collections from Antiquity, is very familiar to Watson from his days living in Rome. During the course of an afternoon in June 2021, he returned to the palazzo and started the process of making photographs, something he had done in the palazzo many times before. Watson says, “even though I only spent three or four hours there that afternoon, and that all the photographs printed in this monograph were taken during that time; this work is a culmination of the many visits and observations that I made over the long stretch of time. It wasn’t my intention to make a book, but back in my studio the characters willed their way from my archive and onto the pages of this volume”. ¹

For over 30 years Simon Watson has exhibited his photographs in Europe and the U.S. including solo shows at the late Richard Anderson Gallery in New York and the Auschwitz Museum in Poland. More recently he has shown his paintings at the Galerie Rideau de Fer in France. His work is included in museums, public and private collections worldwide. Watson has been a regular contributor to The New York Times T Magazine, W Magazine, Vogue, Vanity Fair and many other titles worldwide. His recent book The Lives of Others was published by Rizzoli in 2020. ²

Dürer Editions is a fine art book publishing company based between Ireland,  France and the U.S. It publishes fine art titles in photography, painting, sculpture, design and architecture. Named after the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer (master printer, engraver and one of the earliest book publishers), Dürer Editions is committed to publishing beautifully crafted books in collaboration with artists. ³