The Peter Warrack Archive

"Peter's favorites part of photography was the people. He didn't just collect photographs, he somehow collected the people as well." 
- Kevin McElroy 

Peter was born and raised in Liverpool, England. His early years were during the beginning of WWII, and the main form of entertainment in those days (and a release from the German bombings that often hit his part of town) was weekly visits to the movie theatre showing the latest American releases.  This is where Peter's interest in the entertainment field began. Long before the "British Invasion" of the early 1960's, Liverpool and London were areas where stars of the stage, screen, and concert halls migrated. Peter was an avid fan. He attended all the shows and concerts and waited back stage to collect autographs. He began writing to celebrities and corresponded with many over the years as he amassed his autograph collection. In the 1960's, Peter attended Liverpool College of Art where he studied design, an area of study which certainly influenced his ability to uniquely set the layout of photographs he took years later.  While in school he regularly attended the Cavern Club where one would go in early Saturday evening and leave sometime early Sunday morning. While there, groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones either performed or were part of the audience. Peter befriended several of the performers from Liverpool who later became famous during the "Invasion.” 

In his early 20's, Peter lived in London, Rome, and Athens working for entertainment magazines and writing articles about events that he attended, like the Cannes Film Festival. It was during this period of time that his interest in photography began to develop. Over the years, Peter began to amass a very extensive collection of photographs of people he met. He attended many events and met many famed individuals of the time. He always took the time to research people before meeting them and was able to talk with them about their careers, their travels and even their families. This impressed them and they felt comfortable in his company; many became personal friends over the years. Their comfort level always translated into the way he captured the personality of those individuals, as he would engage them in easy, friendly conversation while taking candid photos.