British photographer Martin Parr, famous for his photographs that humorously portray the daily lives of his compatriots, died on Saturday, December 6, at the age of 73, his foundation announced this Sunday in a statement.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that Martin Parr (1952-2025) died on Saturday at his home in Bristol, announced the Martin Parr Foundationtogether with the Magnum Photos agency, for which the photographer worked.
“He is survived by his wife, Susie, his daughter, Ellen, his sister, Vivien, and his grandson, George. The family requests privacy at this time”, reads the Martin Parr Foundation page).
“The Martin Parr Foundation and Magnum Photos will work together to preserve and share Martin’s legacy,” who “will be greatly missed,” the statement adds.
Martin Parr achieved his status thanks to his own “recognizable” aesthetic, with large shots and saturated colors, his British touch and his favorite themes, such as mass tourism or consumerism”, reports the agency France Presse, giving as an example bodies tanned by the sun, garden parties, the obsessive use of hats, in a set of everyday life situations that gain relevance beyond the banality, through his perspective.
The artist’s influence goes far beyond the circle of photography lovers, although his almost documentary work, sometimes considered ‘kitsch’, has earned him as many admirers as detractors, adds the French news agency.
Born in Surrey, on May 23, 1952, Martin Parr was introduced to photography by a grandfather who was passionate about this expression, and began capturing images in black and white, in line with what the great masters of the 1970s did.
In the following decade he would stand out with “Last Resort”, a set of photographs of middle-class tourists in Brighton, which anticipates the rest of his work, marked in particular by the use of ‘flash’, even outdoors.
After a path full of obstacles, he became a full member of the Magnum agency in 1994, despite Henri Cartier-Bresson’s initial refusal, the agency he would head between 2013 and 2017.