David Yarrow was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1966. He took up photography at an early age and as a 20-year-old found himself working as a photographer for The London Times on the pitch at the World Cup Final in Mexico City. On that day, David took the famous picture of Diego Maradona holding the World Cup and, as a result, was subsequently asked to cover the Olympics and numerous other sporting events. Many years later David established himself as a photographer by documenting the natural world from new perspectives and the last nine years have been career defining.
David’s evocative and immersive photography is most distinctive and has earned him an ever growing following amongst art collectors. His large monochrome images made in Los Angeles are on display in leading galleries and museums across Europe and North America. He is now recognised as one of the best-selling photographers in the world and his limited edition works regularly sell at high prices at Sotheby’s and other auction houses.
In September 2019, Rizzoli published their second book by David Yarrow. It was Rizzoli’s flagship book and their Autumn catalogue featured David’s image on the cover. The books foreword was written by global NFL star Tom Brady and an afterword written by American cultural icon Cindy Crawford. All royalties from this book are donated to conservation charities.
Exactly three years after the publication of David’s last book, Rizzoli published Storytelling in 2022. Storytelling features over 130 of David’s images taken since 2019. The book’s foreword was written by Cindy Crawford. All the profits from the copies purchased through David Yarrow Photography Ltd will be donated to the UW Health Kids Cancer Care Charity. David and Cindy’s on-going collaboration since 2019 has raised over $3m for the UW Health Kids Cancer Care Charity.
David’s position in the industry has been rewarded with a wide range of advisory and ambassadorial roles. He is an ambassador for WildArk and The Kevin Richardson Foundation. As the European ambassador for Nikon, David has been integral to the company’s most anticipated camera release of the last decade. In December 2017 he shot LVMH’s latest “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign with Cara Delevingne. In the spring of 2020, David was appointed a Global Ambassador for Best Buddies – one of America’s most established children’s charities. In 2020, David became an ambassador for African Community and Conservation Foundation and presented his work at the Endangered Rangers virtual fundraiser. In March 2022, David became an ambassador for Berenberg Bank, based in Hamburg.
Since 2019, David’s work has raised over $10m for philanthropic and conservation organisations. At Art Miami in December 2019, David’s photograph “The Wolves of Wall Street” broke new records. One print, signed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, featuring the real Wolf of Wall Street – Jordan Belfort – sold for $200,000. The proceeds went to conservation NGOs supported by DiCaprio.
At the start of 2020, David was in Australia documenting the devastating bush fires that destroyed communities, wildlife, and wildlands. Using the striking and poignant images that he captured of the effects of the fire, Yarrow launched the #KoalaComeback Campaign to support the recovery efforts in Australia. In April 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, David joined the Art for Heroes campaign, to raise money for the NHS. He released a print – Our Pride – with all proceeds going to HEROES. For every print purchased, David donated an Our Pride print to an NHS worker. In November 2020 David Yarrow collaborated with charitable organisation Space for Giants to raise money towards stopping the Illegal Wildlife Trade. The campaign raised over $300,000.
In June 2022, golfing legend Gary Player collaborated with David Yarrow on a photoshoot at St Andrew’s, to pay homage to 150 Years of The Open Championship. Proceeds from the shoot went to The Gary and Vivienne Player Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to help provide underprivileged and vulnerable children with a safe and nurturing environment in which to thrive.