British photographer Martin Parr dead aged 73
Beloved British photographer Martin Parr, known for his depictions of British life, has passed away at the age of 73.
The Martin Parr Foundation studios broke the news via a statement on their website. It began, “It is with great sadness that we announce that Martin Parr (1952-2025) died yesterday at home in Bristol.”
It continued, “He is survived by his wife Susie, his daughter Ellen, his sister Vivien and
his grandson George. The family asks for privacy at this time.”
Promising to honour his legacy, the statement then shared, “The Martin Parr Foundation and Magnum Photos will work together to preserve and share Martin’s legacy. More information on this will follow in due course.”
Parr shot to fame in the mid-1980s. He launched a series of pictures from 1983 to 1985, which depicted people relaxing at the seaside town of New Brighton, situated near Liverpool. The collection, called The Last Resort, photographed the odd despondency of working-class conditions through depictions of fish and chip wrappers and children crying.
The artist knew the medium was always bound up in his career. This February, when speaking with The Guardian, he shared, “I knew I would be a photographer from the age of 13, 14, and I knew what was good even then. I was obsessive about photography. All artists are obsessive, I think.”
The artist was born in Surrey in 1952, after which he grew up in Epsom. After moving to Hebden Bridge, he spent time photographing chapel communities before meeting his wife, Susan Mitchell. They moved to the west coast of Ireland, where he began publishing his works, including the Bad Weather collection, which was taken innovatively, using an underwater camera.
The class dynamics depicted in his work were at the heart of his vision. As such, he once told The Observer, “All photojournalists are left-wing. You can’t do this job unless you care about people.”
After the success of The Last Resort, his photography turned to global critiques, such as Small World, which hit out at the tourist industry, and Common Sense, which centred on the disadvantages of global consumerism.
He launched the Martin Parr Foundation in 2014, which was home to a vast collection of British and Irish photography from other artists.
His cause of death has not been explicitly revealed, although he had been diagnosed with cancer in May 2021.
The studio finished off the statement, which shared news of his passing, with a statement that can be understood by all familiar with his work: “Martin will be greatly missed.”
