Richard Ansett is a fine art social documentary and portrait photographer based in London, UK. His images have been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, London, his portrait of the film director David Lynch was acquired by the Smithsonian, USA, and his portrait of film director David Cronenberg acquired by the National Canadian Library and Archives. A portrait of a boy with a head injury from the Donbas region of Ukraine and a bather from the same region have been acquired by Bibliotheque National de France. His portrait BIRTH – A Portrait of Grayson Perry was awarded first prize at the Sony World Photography Awards 2019 and his series of portraits exploring the complex mental health of women prisoners and the series exploring a disappearing community in South London, Behind The Brutal Facade, 2020 were both shortlisted subsequently for the same awards. The series fat won Gold Award at PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris.
"“Richard Ansett’s images do not flatter to deceive… humour offsets a gritty realism.” - Diane Smyth ""An act of genius…he is the skeleton from which all the other meat hangs.” - Boris Mikhailov ""Wow! Just wow! … It’s a really stunning thing. A love letter that is itself a work of art about a work of art that is Grayson. Both playful and deadly serious ... these photos are not simply about 'serving looks' but about restlessness and identity and transience. That world is full of possibilities because Grayson has given himself the freedom to be whoever he wants to be, to look how he wants. His gift is that he passes that freedom to us. Ansett’s work is mind-blowing … not cosy at all. Just brilliant photography."" - Suzanne Moore ""Great to see Grayson in his various guises. He must have more women's clothes than the average woman!"" - Martin Parr"