The sad news broke Sunday morning: Martin Parr had passed away the day before.
He is one of the giants of documentary photography.
From the early 1990s, he redefined it with his striking colors, his editorial choices, and his utterly innovative vision.
To this passion for photography, he added more than 100 published books, a collection of over 12,000 books which was acquired by Tate Gallery with the collaboration of Maja Hoffmann and the LUMA foundation, a foundation, and remarkable initiatives such as The Anonymous Project.
We have published his work nearly 50 times.
Today’s edition is dedicated to him and will remain in free access throughout this week.
The Martin Parr Foundation sent us this text.
Jean-Jacques Naudet
It is with great sadness that we announce that Martin Parr (1952-2025) died yesterday at home in Bristol.
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.
The Martin Parr Foundation and Magnum Photos will work together to preserve and share Martin’s legacy.
Martin Parr was born in Epsom, Surrey, UK, in 1952. When he was a boy, his budding interest in the medium of photography was encouraged by his grandfather George Parr, himself a keen amateur photographer.
Martin Parr studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic, from 1970 to 1973.
Since that time, Martin Parr has worked on numerous photographic projects.
He has developed an international reputation for his innovative imagery, his oblique approach to social documentary, and his input to photographic culture within the UK and abroad.
In 1994 he became a full member of Magnum Photographic Cooperative.
Parr developed an interest in filmmaking, and has started to use his photography within different genres, such as fashion and advertising.
Parr holds the Guiness World Record for having the largest simultaneous photography exhibition. An exhibition showing Common Sense could be viewed at 41 galleries around the world on 1 April 1999. The exhibition was shown at a total of 44 venues during March, April and May 1999.
In 2002 the Barbican Art Gallery and the National Media Museum initiated alarge retrospective of Martin Parr’s work. This exhibition toured Europe for the next 5 years.
Martin Parr was Professor of Photography at The University of Wales Newport campus from 2004 to 2012. Martin Parr was Guest Artistic Director for the Rencontres d’Arles in 2004.
In 2006 Martin Parr was awarded the Erich Salomon Prize and the resulting Assorted Cocktail show opened at Photokina.
In 2008 Martin Parr was guest curator at New York Photo Festival, curating the New Typologies exhibition.
Parrworld opened at Haus de Kunst, Munich, in 2008. The show exhibited Parr’s own collection of objects, postcards, photography prints by both British and International photographers, photo books and a new project from Parr entitled Luxury. The exhibition toured Europe for the following 2 years.
At PhotoEspana, 2008, Martin Parr won the Baume et Mercier award in recognition of his professional career and contributions to contemporary photography.
Martin Parr curated the Brighton Photo Biennial in October 2010. From 2008-2013 Parr was a visiting Professor at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Parr was appointed a 0.2FTE Professor of Photography there in 2013.
In Spring 2015 Aperture published The Chinese Photobook, a book about the history of Chinese photo books that Parr collaborated with Wassinklundgren on.
In March 2016 Strange and Familiar, curated by Parr, opened at the Barbican, London. The show examines how international photographers from 1930s onwards have photographed in the UK.
Martin Parr was awarded the Sony World Photography Award for Outstanding Contribution to Photography in April 2017.
Between 2013 – 2017 Martin was president of Magnum Photos.
Martin Parr Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales No. 1161282
In Autumn 2017 the Martin Parr Foundation opened in Bristol.
In March 2019, Only Human opened at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
The exhibition included portraits from around the world, with a special focus on Britishness, explored through a series of projects that investigated British
identity.
Martin Parr was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s birthday honours in June, 2021. He received an honorary degree from the University of South Wales, 2023.\
In 2024 Martin Parr received a Lifetime Achievement Award from La Gacilly-Baden Photo Festival and was recognised as an inductee from The International Photography
