Acclaimed British photographer Martin Parr dies aged 73

A chronicler of the everyday, Parr made enactment famed for its biting observations delivered successful highly saturated colour.

British documentary lensman Martin Parr has died astatine the property of 73, his instauration announced.

One of the best-known documentary photographers of his time, whose lens was often focused connected the peculiarities of the English people system, Parr died astatine his location successful the occidental English metropolis of Bristol connected Sunday.

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“Martin volition beryllium greatly missed,” said the Martin Parr Foundation connected Instagram, noting it would beryllium moving with Magnum Photos “to sphere and stock Martin’s legacy”.

No details connected the circumstances of his decease were provided, though the lensman had antecedently revealed being diagnosed with myeloma, a benignant of humor cancer.

Born and raised successful Surrey, southbound of London, successful the 1950s, Parr was inspired by his grandfather, a keen amateur photographer, and opted for his chosen assemblage portion inactive a teenager.

He launched his vocation aft studying astatine the University of Manchester, taking black-and-white shots that aped the large masters of the clip specified arsenic Henri Cartier-Bresson.

But helium recovered himself drawn to colour photography, which was becoming the modular form, inspired by the benignant of amusing seaside postcards and different kitsch items of mundane 1970s Britain.

“Once I tried colour, I ne'er looked back,” helium told quality bureau AFP successful 2022.

Parr roseate to prominence with his 1980s collection, The Last Resort, which depicted working-class visitors to the seaside municipality of New Brighton, with highly saturated shots of frazzled beachgoers lit by lurid flash.

In The Cost of Living, Parr captured gentrification nether the authorities of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher successful the 1980s, documenting the mediate classes keeping up appearances astatine suburban plot parties and fundraising events with an ever satirical eye.

His arguable benignant was not universally liked. Parr was sometimes accused of cruelty for his refusal to flatter his subjects, though helium remained unapologetic and became wide considered arsenic a maestro of his trade who spawned galore imitators.

Cartier-Bresson himself was among respective photographers who tried to artifact Parr’s introduction into Magnum, saying helium appeared to travel “from a wholly antithetic planet”. Parr aboriginal responded: “I cognize what you mean, but wherefore sprout the messenger?”

Martin Parr looks retired from his caravan astatine the Photo London amusement successful London, Britain, successful 2016 [File: Kevin Coombs/Reuters]

Though helium travelled the globe during his decades-spanning career, snapping images everyplace from North Korea to Albania and Japan to Russia, helium was champion known for his unvarnished, warts-and-all depictions of Britain.

He told AFP helium felt connected with Britain’s “history of satire and humour”, but had a “love-hate relationship” with the people, peculiarly amid the divisions of Brexit, which helium captured aft the 2016 referendum with photos depicting the volatility of the era.

“I emotion the country… the hatred is from the bigotry, xenophobia that caused the Brexit vote,” helium explained astatine the time.

In an interrogation with the AFP quality bureau published past month, helium argued that the satellite has ne'er been much successful request of the benignant of satire captured successful his images.

“The authorities we’re each successful is appalling,” helium said. “We’re each excessively rich. We’re consuming each these things successful the world. And we can’t. It’s unsustainable.”