The talent behind a set of unique photographs at the centre of a fierce celebrity bidding war in Hollywood can be traced back to North Devon.
The collection of limited edition photographs, of the late actor Heath Ledger with Australian actress Rose Byrne, became the focus of a battle between Hollywood couple Miley Cyrus and her fiancé Liam Hemsworth.
The prints, taken by North Devon man, Rupert Thorpe, who has carved out a successful career in Los Angeles, sold for $22,000 to Miss Cyrus.
Rupert, the son of former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe, said he remembers the actor being "very exciting, very sweet, a really lovely guy". It all began with pictures Rupert took of him in 1999 for an Australian magazine. Rupert's wife Michelle, who is on the Board of Australians in Film, which oversees the Heath Ledger Scholarship – suggested creating a limited edition set of seven pictures, 25 of each.
Rupert donated a set to the Heath Ledger Scholarship to auction off at the Australians in Film Breakthrough Awards in Los Angeles last month, to coincide with the launch of the collection.
All proceeds went to the Heath Ledger Scholarship, and the photographs are being donated to the Western Museum in Perth.
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