Colin O'Brien (8 May 1940 – 19 August 2016) was a British

street photographer Street photography (also sometimes called candid photography) is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Although there is a difference between street and cand ...

. He began documenting life in London in the 1950s and continued to do so for over 60 years, leaving behind a photographic archive of around half a million negatives. His notable publications are ''London Life'' (2015) and ''Travellers' Children in London Fields'' (2013).

Publications by O'Brien

*''Retrospective Images.'' London: Pentagram Design, 2000. . *''Abstract Realities: Images of 20th Century Industrial Design'' London: The London Institute, 2001. . *''Travellers' Children in London Fields.'' London: Spitalfields Life Books, 2013. Edited by The Gentle Author. *''65.'' London: They That Do, 2014. . Edition of 1500 copies. "65 images spanning 65 years". **Boxed edition. London: They That Do, 2014. Included a print and a set of 10 postcards. Edition of 400 copies. *''London Life.'' London: Spitalfields Life Books, 2015. .

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

*''Retrospective Images,''

Aberystwyth Arts Centre Aberystwyth Arts Centre (Welsh: ''Canolfan y Celfyddydau Aberystwyth'') is an arts centre in Wales, located on Aberystwyth University's Penglais campus. One of the largest in Wales, it comprises a theatre (312 seats), concert hall (900 seats), s ...

, Aberystwyth, Wales, May 2007. *''Travellers' Children,'' Genesis Cinema, Stepney, London, 2012. *''Travellers' Children in London Fields,''

Agnès b. agnès b. (born Agnès Andrée Marguerite Troublé, 1941) is a French fashion designer known for her self-named brand, which includes fashion and film interests. Life and early career Agnès had mixed twins at 19 and she separated from their ...

, Marylebone High Street, London, November–December 2013. *''London Life,'' Hackney Museum, Mare Street, London, June–Sept 2014. *Leica Store City gallery, The Royal Exchange, London, 2015. *''London Life,'' The Society Club, Soho, London, June–August 2015. *''East London Life,'' Unit G Gallery, Hackney, London, July–August 2015. *''This England,'' Unit G Gallery, Hackney, London, October 2016. *''Decisive Moments (international retrospective),'' Unit G Gallery, Hanbury Hall, London, July–August 2017.

Exhibitions with others

*''London Street Photography: 1860-2010,''

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

, London, February–September 2011. Travelled to the

Museum of the City of New York A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these i ...

, July–December 2012. *''Playing In or Out?,'' V&A Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, London, March–November 2012. Film and photographs by O'Brien, Alec Brooking and John Heywood. *''Whitechapel: a Look Back,'' Darnley Gallery, Centre for Better Health, Hackney, London, part of Photomonth East London International Photography Festival, October 2014. Photographs by O'Brien and Alex Pink "taken before, during and immediately after the 2012 London Olympic Games."

Collections

O'Brien's work is held in the following public collections: *

, London * Hackney Museum, London

References

External links

*
Obituary by O'Brien's publisher at Spitalfields Life BooksColin O' Brien - 65
documentary by Aaron Kyle (video)
Colin O'Brien Traveller's Children in London Fields
(video)

at ''The Daily Telegraph''

at the book's designers, That They Do 1940 births 2016 deaths Street photographers People from Clerkenwell 20th-century British photographers 21st-century British photographers Photographers from London {{UK-photographer-stub