Martin Parr, the renowned photographer whose unique lens captured the nuances of British culture, has passed away at the age of 73. Celebrated for his genre-defining work and prolific output, Parr was a key figure in the “British New Color Documentary” movement, breaking from the traditional black-and-white style prevalent at the time to depict everyday scenes blending humor and satire.

Parr’s career gained momentum with his groundbreaking series The Last Resort, shot between 1983 and 1985. The work offered a raw, almost anarchic portrayal of working-class English leisure at New Brighton’s beaches: a riot of images filled with sunburnt skin, overflowing bins, and melting ice creams. Widely polarizing, it drew criticism for perceived classism and voyeurism, yet the controversy cemented his reputation and signaled a radical new direction in documentary photography.

As his career progressed, Parr continued to probe various rungs of the social ladder, turning his unflinching gaze to the middle and upper classes in works like The Cost of Living (1986–88). In a period marked by significant financial hardship for many in Britain, Parr’s photographs highlighted privilege and inequality with both artistry and critique. His ability to capture the grotesque while infusing beauty into the everyday became a hallmark of his style. Indeed, the striking, oft-humorous nature of his photographs often belies their underlying compositional and technical prowess.

While the mainstay of his work remained rooted in the UK, his travels took him around the world, particularly within Asia. From 1984 onward he made repeated visits to China and India, and pursued further projects in Japan, Hong Kong, and even North Korea. Parr had a special affinity for Chinese photography, co-authoring The Chinese Photobook: From the 1900s to the Present in 2015, a wide-ranging survey that showcased China’s rich yet underrecognized history of photobook publishing. In early 2025, Fotografiska Shanghai presented “Short & Sweet,” Parr’s first solo exhibition in mainland China.

Parr joined the renowned Magnum Photos agency in 1994. His election was initially contentious, his work clashing with the agency’s humanist, black-and-white photojournalist legacy. Magnum co-founder Henri Cartier-Bresson famously remarked that he and Parr belonged to “two different solar systems.” Few would have guessed that Parr would go on to serve as president of the organization from 2013 to 2017, working to modernize the agency and champion contemporary forms of documentary photography. The Martin Parr Foundation, established in 2014, continued his commitment to fostering the medium. In 2017 the foundation moved to a physical space, housing a gallery, library, studio, and archive dedicated to photography.

Parr’s passing has prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the photography world, highlighting not just his seismic influence on the medium but also the warmth of his character. He leaves behind a legacy that will endure in both the photographs he created and in the many lives he inspired. He is survived by his wife, Susie, his daughter Ellen, and his grandson George.

Iain Cocks is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.