Paddy Summerfield (born 1947Potted biography of Summerfield; in

Gerry Badger Gerald David "Gerry" Badger (born 1946) is an English writer and curator of photography, and a photographer. In 2018 he received the J Dudley Johnston Award from the Royal Photographic Society. Life and career Badger was born in 1946 in Northam ...

and John Benton-Harris (ed), ''Through the Looking Glass: Photographic Art in Britain 1945–1989'' (London: Barbican Art Gallery, 1989), p. 197.) is a British photographer who has lived and worked in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in the UK all his life. Summerfield is known for his "evocative series of black and white images, shot on 35mm film, which co-opt the traditional genre of documentary photography to realise a more personal and inward looking vision." He has said his photographs are exclusively about abandonment and loss.

Life and career

After taking an Art Foundation course at the

Oxford Polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

, Summerfield attended

Guildford School of Art Guildford School of Art was formed in 1856 as Guildford Working Men's Institution and was one of several schools of art run by Surrey County Council. After several mergers with tertiary art institutions it became part of the University for the ...

, studying firstly in the Photography Department, then joining the Film department the following year. In 1967, when still a first-year student, he made photographs that appeared in 1970 in

Bill Jay William Jay (12 August 1940 – 10 May 2009) was a photographer, writer on and advocate of photography, curator, magazine and picture editor, lecturer, public speaker and mentor. He was the first editor of "the immensely influential magazine" ''Cr ...

's magazine ''

Album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''. Between 1968 and 1978, Summerfield documented

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

students in the summer terms. His pictures published in ''

Creative Camera ''Creative Camera'' (also known as "CC") was a British monthly/bi-monthly magazine devoted to fine art photography and documentary photography. The successor to the very different (hobbyist) magazine '' Camera Owner'' (which had started in 1964), ' ...

,'' and on its cover in January 1974, were recognised as psychological and expressionist, unusual in an era of journalistic and documentary photography. Throughout his life, Summerfield has focused on making photographic essays that are personal documents. From 1997 to 2007 he photographed his parents, his mother with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

and his father caring for her. ''Like It Is'' was Summerfield's first London exhibition, a group show in Dixon's Photographic Gallery,

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...

, in 1967. Since then, his work has been exhibited at other London venues, including the ICA Gallery, the

Serpentine Gallery The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Central London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Gallery, ...

, the

Barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

, and

The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established in ...

in its Newport Street home. When

Nicholas Serota Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota, (born 27 April 1946) is an English art historian and curator, who served as the Director of the Tate from 1988 to 2017. He is currently Chair of Arts Council England, a role which he has held since February 2017. Se ...

was director of the

Museum of Modern Art, Oxford Modern Art Oxford is an art gallery established in 1965 in Oxford, England. From 1965 to 2002, it was called The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. The gallery presents exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. It has a national and internationa ...

, he offered Summerfield the opportunity to exhibit ''Beneath the Dreaming Spires'', his first one-man show, in 1976. During his early career, he was awarded several Arts Council grants.

Publications

Books by Summerfield

*''Mother and Father.'' Stockport, UK:

Dewi Lewis Dewi Lewis (born 10 March 1951) is a Welsh publisher and curator of photography. Career In 1975, Lewis was the founding director of the Bury Metropolitan Arts Association which operates the Met. Lewis also founded and was the first director of ...

, 2014. .Dewi Lewis's page about ''Mother and Father'' i
here
*''The Oxford Pictures 1968–1978.'' Stockport, UK: Dewi Lewis, 2016. .Dewi Lewis's page about ''The Oxford Pictures'' i
here
*''Empty Days.'' Stockport, UK: Dewi Lewis, 2018. .Dewi Lewis's page about ''Empty Days'' i
here
*''The Holiday Pictures.'' Stockport, UK: Dewi Lewis, 2019. .Dewi Lewis's page about ''The Holiday Pictures" i
here
*''Home Movie.'' Stockport, UK: Dewi Lewis, 2021. . With an essay by Patricia Baker-Cassidy.Dewi Lewis's page about ''Home Movie" i
here

Smaller publications by Summerfield

*''Weekend Away.'' Southport, UK:

Café Royal A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

, 2016. Edition of 200 copies.Café Royal's page about ''Weekend Away'' i
here
*''Remember Hope.'' Photopaper 17. Fotobookfestival Kassel, 2017. Edited by

.The page about ''Remember Hope'' at Photopaper's website i
here
*''Distant Times.'' Southport, UK: Café Royal, 2018. Edition of 250 copies.Café Royal's page about ''Distant Times'' i
here

Publications with others

*''Serpentine Photography 73: The Arts Council presents work by 43 young photographers.'' London:

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

, 1973. . 45 cards (90 sides) in an envelope. *''Family: Photographers Photograph Their Families.'' Edited by Sophie Spencer-Wood. London and New York: Phaidon, 2005. .

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

*1976: ''Beneath the Dreaming Spires'',

;

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

, London *1992: ''Retrospective,''

Ruskin School of Art The Ruskin School of Art, known as the Ruskin, is an art school at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division, University of Oxford, Humanities Division. History The Ruskin grew out the Oxford School of Art, ...

, Oxford *2005: ''Empty Days,'' Ovada, Oxford *2019–2020 ''The Holiday Pictures,'' Flow Photographic Gallery, London

Group exhibitions

*1967: ''Like It Is'', Dixon's Photographic Gallery, London *1971: ''Young Contemporaries I Creative Camera Travelling Exhibition'' *1972: ''Young Contemporaries II Creative Camera Travelling Exhibition'' *1973: ''Serpentine Photography '73,''

, London. Curated by Peter Turner *1974: ''Co-Optic Real Britain,'' 19 February – 9 March. With Co-Optic group members

Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...

Chris Steele-Perkins Christopher Horace Steele-Perkins (born 28 July 1947) is a British photographer and member of Magnum Photos, best known for his depictions of Africa, Afghanistan, England, Northern Ireland, and Japan. Life and career Steele-Perkins was born in ...

, Peter Turner, and Nick Hedges. *1975: ''Young British Photographers,'' with

Brian Griffin H. Brian Griffinas shown in Brian Griffin's House of Payne is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Family Guy''. An anthropomorphic white labrador retriever voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is one of the show's mai ...

, Chris Steele-Perkins, etc, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford;

, London; then travelling UK, Europe, USA *1975: ''International Photography'', Museum of Modern Art, São Paulo *1976: ''Previous Exhibitors,'' Serpentine Gallery, London *1977: ''Singular Realities,'' Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Side Gallery, Newcastle *1977: ''Concerning Photography,'' 6 July – 27 August,

, London *1982: ''The Third Meaning,'' Museum of Modern Art, Oxford *1982: ''Under the Arches,''

Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

, Leiden *1984: ''Sequences,'' Cambridge Darkroom *1987: ''The Bradford Challenge'',

National Museum of Photography, Film and Television National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, Bradford *1988: ''Death'', Cambridge Darkroom *1989: ''Through the Looking Glass,''

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

, London *1989: ''Sun Life Photography Awards,'' National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford *2004: ''English Eyes,'' Leica Gallery, New York City. Curated by Peter Hamilton.

Film about Summerfield

*''Mother and Father'' (2015) – FullBleed Productions

Collections

, London *

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 ...

, LondonRecord
of a 1967 photograph (museum number PH.80-1984), Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 8 February 2018. *

Martin Parr Foundation Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...

, Bristol, UK

Notes

References

External links

*
Paddy Summerfield: Mother & Father
– short film made by FullBleed, on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Summerfield, Paddy 1947 births Living people People from Derby People from Oxford Photographers from Oxfordshire