NEW YORK, NY.- With great sadness, Janet Borden, Inc. announces the death of our photographer Martin Parr on 6 December, in Bristol, UK. He was a great artist and collector, raconteur, and wit, whose five decades of photographs were profoundly influential. He will be missed as our longstanding artist and good friend. Below are some of our favorites.
Martin Parr was born in Epson, Surrey, England, in 1952 and died in Bristol, England, in 2025.
Parr's early work included The Last Resort, an astounding view of the then-decaying beach town of Brighton. Lurid cheerful color was in stark contrast to the blowing trash and squalid beaches. The casual decrepitude belied a strong formal approach.
Subsequent projects included The Cost of Living, Small World, Luxury, Common Sense, Fashion Faux Parr. .He produced over one hundred photobooks throughout his career. In 2017, the Tate acquired his collection of over 12,000 photobooks. He continued to collect.
Martin Parr became a member of the Magnum Photo cooperative in 1988. He was President of Magnum in 2013-2017. His work is included in almost all public collections throughout the world.
Parr received numerous awards, including the Royal Photographic Society Centenary Medal; honorary Doctor of Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University; Lucie Award Parr was awarded an Arts Medal from the Queen in 2016, and a C.B.E. in 2021.
In 2015, Parr established the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol, collecting and exhibiting the work of British documentary photographers, including himself.