Mark Haworth-Booth (born 20 August 1944) is a British
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
and
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
of
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...
. He was a
curator
A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...
at the
Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
in London from 1970 to 2004.
[Things: A Spectrum of Photography, 1850-2001](_blank)
(London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 2004)
Family
![Haworth Hall on the River Hull - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Haworth_Hall_on_the_River_Hull_-_geograph.org.uk_-_259098.jpg)
His family on his father’s side were
minor gentry seated at Hull Bank House, Kingston upon Hull
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, now Haworth Hall. One of his forebears married the sister of the poet and MP for Hull,
Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...
.
Early life and education
Haworth-Booth was the youngest son of
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
Antony Haworth-Booth,
chairman of East Sussex County Council, and Eva Holm, only daughter of the Danish stage and film actress Astrid Holm and her husband Holger Holm, ballet dancer and film actor.
He was educated at
Brighton College
Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...
before going up to
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...
to read
English literature, before undertaking
postgraduate studies
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree.
The organization and struc ...
in
Art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
and (much later) creative writing at
Exeter (
MA with Distinction).
Work
Haworth-Booth started his career at the Manchester Art Gallery in 1969 and worked at the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
from 1970 to 2004, becoming
Senior Curator of
Photographs
A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...
and played a major role in building up its collection of photography. He has curated many exhibitions, including ''Photography: An Independent Art'' (1997), and ''Things: A Spectrum of Photography, 1850–2001'' (2004).
The last photography exhibition he curated, with the
Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
Jeu de Paume ( en, Real Tennis Court) is an arts centre for modern and postmodern photography and media. It is located in the north corner (west side) of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. In 2004, Galerie Nationale ...
in Paris and the
National Portrait Gallery, London, was a centenary retrospective of the pioneering photographer
Camille Silvy
Camille-Léon-Louis Silvy (1834–1910) was a French photographer, primarily active in London.
He learned photography from his friend, Count Olympe Aguado, in 1857, and became a member of the Société française de photographie in 1858. He th ...
(1834–1910). It was titled ''Camille Silvy. Photographer of Modern Life 1834–1910'' and exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in 2010. He researched the Silvy Exhibition catalogue at the
J. Paul Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa.
The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, as a Museum Scholar in 2008.
Inaugural Visiting Professor of Photography at the
University of the Arts London (2002–2009), he acted as a consultant on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television series ''The Genius of Photography'', aired in 2007 and again in 2009.
Since retiring from most photographic activity he has focused on environmental campaigning and writing. He has published poems in national magazines since 1986, won awards and published two books of poems: ''Wild Track'' (2005) and ''Wild is the Wind'' (with Tessa Traeger’s photographs, 2017).
with his wife Rosie (''née'' Miles), whom he married in 1979. Rosemary Miles (her professional name) made many important acquisitions of BAME printmakers for the V&A collection and served as the chair of Autograph, the Association of Black Photographers. They have two daughters.
, for "services to museums".
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* (Essay: Homage to mount desert island : a small resort, but there's so much to do)
* (Essay: Benjamin Brecknell Turner : Photographic views from nature)
* (Preface)
* (Essay: San Quentin Point)
* (Essay: A Connoisseur of the art of photography in the 1850s: The Rev. C. H. Townsend)
* (Essay: Photography and the new vision)
* (Essay: Reyner Banham and photography)
* (Essay: Camille Silvy : the photography of works of art as record and restoration)
* (Essay: The Return of Vittorio Sella)
* (Essay Roger Fenton, Double Bridge on the Machno)(Essay Bill Brandt, Young Housewife, Bethnal Green, 1937)