Roger Mayne
Encyclopedia
Roger Mayne is an English
photographer, most famous for his documentation of the children of Southam Street, London
.
, and met Hugo van Wadenoyen
, a key figure in British photography's break with pictorialism
. On graduating in 1951 Mayne contributed pictures to Picture Post
, and was an occasional film stills photographer. In the early 1950s he made photographic portraits of many residents in the artist's-colony town of St. Ives, Cornwall. He operated very much in an aesthetic vacuum, struggling to find any coherent tradition of British photography to follow. In 1956 he had a one-man show of his portraits at the ICA
(UK
), and George Eastman House
(U.S.
). By 1957 he was established as a freelance photographer for London magazines and book-jacket designers.
With some financial and limited curatorial security established, he began to look for a significant personal project. He found it in the street life of Southam Street in Notting Dale (now often considered part of Notting Hill
), which he photographed between 1956 and 1961. The novelist Colin MacInnes
asked Mayne to contribute the cover shot for Absolute Beginners
(1959), which is set in the area around Southam Street. The Southam Street collection is of national importance, and is now held by the Victoria and Albert Museum
, London.
Most of Southam Street was demolished in 1969 to make way for Trellick Tower
; a small section still exists. Mayne's Southam Street work had a major retrospective exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1986; and was brought to a new audience in the 1990s, through being extensively used for concert backdrops, record sleeves and press-adverts by the singer Morrissey
.
In the early 1960s Mayne moved into colour photography, photographing Greece
and Spain
, artists and their studios, and then landscapes, and publishing work in the mid and late 1960s in the new Sunday Times and Observer colour magazines.
In 1962, Mayne married the playwright Ann Jellicoe
. They moved to Lyme Regis
in Dorset
in 1975. A major exhibition of his portraits was held at the National Portrait Gallery in 2004. He was represented in an important exhibition at Tate, Liverpool in 2006. His work continues to be represented in various venues. Mayne's work is also seen in the film version of Absolute Beginners.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
photographer, most famous for his documentation of the children of Southam Street, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Life and work
Mayne studied Chemistry at Balliol College, Oxford University. Here he became interested in photographic processingPhotographic processing
Photographic processing is the chemical means by which photographic film and paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image...
, and met Hugo van Wadenoyen
Hugo van Wadenoyen
Hugo van Wadenoyen Hugo van Wadenoyen Hugo van Wadenoyen (b.1892 - d. 1 Mar 1959 (Cheltenham) was a British photographer, of Dutch origins. He lived in Cheltenham England, and was an influential figure in the long drawn-out genesis of British fine art photography, especially in the 1945–1965 years...
, a key figure in British photography's break with pictorialism
Pictorialism
Pictorialism is the name given to a photographic movement in vogue from around 1885 following the widespread introduction of the dry-plate process. It reached its height in the early years of the 20th century, and declined rapidly after 1914 after the widespread emergence of Modernism...
. On graduating in 1951 Mayne contributed pictures to Picture Post
Picture Post
Picture Post was a prominent photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months...
, and was an occasional film stills photographer. In the early 1950s he made photographic portraits of many residents in the artist's-colony town of St. Ives, Cornwall. He operated very much in an aesthetic vacuum, struggling to find any coherent tradition of British photography to follow. In 1956 he had a one-man show of his portraits at the ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
(UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), and George Eastman House
George Eastman House
The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
(U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). By 1957 he was established as a freelance photographer for London magazines and book-jacket designers.
With some financial and limited curatorial security established, he began to look for a significant personal project. He found it in the street life of Southam Street in Notting Dale (now often considered part of Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
), which he photographed between 1956 and 1961. The novelist Colin MacInnes
Colin MacInnes
Colin MacInnes was an English novelist and journalist.-Early life:MacInnes was born in London, the son of singer James Campbell McInnes and novelist Angela Thirkell, who was also related to Rudyard Kipling and Stanley Baldwin. His family moved to Australia in 1920, MacInness returning in 1930...
asked Mayne to contribute the cover shot for Absolute Beginners
Absolute Beginners
Absolute Beginners is a novel by Colin MacInnes, written and set in 1958 London, England. It was published in 1959. The novel is the second of MacInnes' London Trilogy, coming after City Of Spades and before Mr. Love and Justice...
(1959), which is set in the area around Southam Street. The Southam Street collection is of national importance, and is now held by the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London.
Most of Southam Street was demolished in 1969 to make way for Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower is a 31-storey block of flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. It was designed in the Brutalist style by architect Ernő Goldfinger, after a commission from the Greater London Council in 1966, and completed in 1972...
; a small section still exists. Mayne's Southam Street work had a major retrospective exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1986; and was brought to a new audience in the 1990s, through being extensively used for concert backdrops, record sleeves and press-adverts by the singer Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
.
In the early 1960s Mayne moved into colour photography, photographing Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, artists and their studios, and then landscapes, and publishing work in the mid and late 1960s in the new Sunday Times and Observer colour magazines.
In 1962, Mayne married the playwright Ann Jellicoe
Ann Jellicoe
Ann Jellicoe is a British actor, theatre director and playwright. Although her work has covered many areas of theatre and film, she is best known for "pushing the envelope" of the stage play, devising new forms which challenge and delight unconventional audiences...
. They moved to Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset-Devon border...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
in 1975. A major exhibition of his portraits was held at the National Portrait Gallery in 2004. He was represented in an important exhibition at Tate, Liverpool in 2006. His work continues to be represented in various venues. Mayne's work is also seen in the film version of Absolute Beginners.
Solo exhibitions
- "Photographs from London". ICAInstitute of Contemporary ArtsThe Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
(London), 1956. - "Daughter and Sun". Half Moon Gallery (London), 1972.
- "Roger Mayne photographs 1964–73". Photographers' Gallery, London, 1974.
- "Roger Mayne: landscape photographs". Newlyn Gallery (Penzance), 1980.
- "Roger Mayne: street photographs 1956-61." South Bank CentreSouth Bank CentreSouthbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, UK, on the South Bank of the River Thames between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge. It comprises three main buildings , and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. It attracts more than three million visitors annually...
(London), 1987. - "Roger Mayne". Gitterman Gallery (New York), 2004.
- "Seizing an Instant". National Portrait Gallery (London), 2004.
- "Roger Mayne". Gitterman Gallery (New York), 2007.
- "Roger Mayne at 80: A celebratory exhibition of photographs". Bernard QuaritchBernard QuaritchBernard Quaritch, full name Bernard Alexander Christian Quaritch, was a German-born British bookseller and collector....
(London), 2009.
Group exhibitions
- "Making history: Art and documentary in Britain from 1929 to now". Tate LiverpoolTate LiverpoolTate Liverpool is an art gallery and museum in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The museum was an initiative of the Merseyside Development Corporation...
, 2006. With works by Bill BrandtBill BrandtBill Brandt was an influential British photographer and photojournalist known for his high-contrast images of British society and his distorted nudes and landscapes.-Career and life:...
, Vanley BurkeVanley BurkeVanley Burke was born in St. Thomas, Jamaica, in 1951. He was sent a “Box Brownie” camera from his parents who were living in England for his 10th birthday. He came to England in 1965 to join his parents and left his radio to his Aunt as a parting gift taking his camera with him...
, William ColdstreamWilliam ColdstreamSir William Menzies Coldstream was a British realist painter and a long standing art teacher.-Biography:...
, Nathan ColeyNathan ColeyNathan Coley is a contemporary British installation artist, who was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2007....
, Nick Hedges, Nigel HendersonNigel Henderson (artist)Nigel Henderson was an artist and photographer.He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art. In the early 1950s he was a member of the Independent Group, and taught at the Central School of Art with Anthony Froshaug, Edward Wright and Eduardo Paolozzi.He took part in the exhibition This is Tomorrow...
, Tony Ray-JonesTony Ray-JonesTony Ray-Jones was an English photographer.Born Holroyd Anthony Ray-Jones, he was the youngest son of Raymond Ray-Jones , a painter and etcher who died when his son was only eight months old, and Effie Irene Pearce, who would work as a physiotherapist...
, Humphrey SpenderHumphrey SpenderHumphrey Spender was an English photographer, painter, architect and designer.-Family:Humphrey Spender was the third son of Harold Spender, a Liberal journalist and writer who founded the Boys' Club movement with Arnold Toynbee. Humphrey's mother, Violet Schuster, came from a German family who had...
and Julian TrevelyanJulian TrevelyanJulian Otto Trevelyan, RA was a British artist and poet.Trevelyan was the only child of Robert Calverley Trevelyan and his wife Elizabeth van der Hoeven...
. - "Selektion #1: Arbeiten in Schwarz/Weiß". Galerie f5,6, Galerie für Fotografische Kunst (MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
), 2006. - "After Image: Social Documentary Photography in the 20th century". National Gallery of VictoriaNational Gallery of VictoriaThe National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
(MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
), 2007. - "Straßenfotografie - Meisterwerke aus drei Jahrhunderten". Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren (KaufbeurenKaufbeurenKaufbeuren is an independent city in the Regierungsbezirk of Schwaben, southern Bavaria. The city is completely enclaved within the district of Ostallgäu.- Culture and Objects of Interest :* Townhall * Crescentiakloster...
), 2007.
Further reading
- Francis Newton (i.e. Eric HobsbawmEric HobsbawmEric John Ernest Hobsbawm , CH, FBA, is a British Marxist historian, public intellectual, and author...
). The Jazz Scene. London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1959. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1960. Harmondsworth, Middx: Penguin, 1961. New York: Da Capo, 1975. With 12 photographs by Mayne. - Roger Mayne, "Portrait of Southam Street". In Theo Crosby, ed. Uppercase 5. London: Whitefriars, 1961. With 57 photographs by Mayne.
- Hugh J. Klare. Anatomy of Prison. Harmondsworth, Middx: Penguin, 1962. With 9 photographs by Mayne.
- Simon Clements, et al. Reflections: An English Course for Students Aged 14–18. London: Oxford University Press, 1963. With 12 photographs by Mayne.
- Carl-Olof Lång. Engelska bilder - mest om teater: Handbok till Radioteaterns huvudserie 1966/67. Stockholm: Sveriges Radio Vorlag, 1966. With 26 photographs by Mayne.
- Simon Clements, et al. Things Being Various. London: Oxford University Press, 1967. With 81 photographs by Mayne.
- Ann JellicoeAnn JellicoeAnn Jellicoe is a British actor, theatre director and playwright. Although her work has covered many areas of theatre and film, she is best known for "pushing the envelope" of the stage play, devising new forms which challenge and delight unconventional audiences...
and Roger Mayne. Shell Guide to Devon. London: Faber & Faber, 1975. (On the cover: Devon: A Shell Guide.) With 163 photographs by Mayne. - Bruce Watken. Shell Guide to Surrey. London: Faber & Faber, 1977. ISBN 0571096093. With 17 photographs by Mayne.
- UNESCO. Le Monde me doit l'avenir. 1979. With 13 photographs by Mayne.
- Roger Mayne. The Street Photographs of Roger Mayne. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1986. ISBN 1-85177-002-X. With text by Mark Haworth-BoothMark Haworth-BoothMark Haworth-Booth , was keeper of the collection of photographs and prints at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, between 1970 and 2004....
. London: Zelda Cheatle Press, 1993. - Martin Harrison. Young Meteors: British Photojournalism, 1957-1965. London: Cape, 1998.
- Ten out of ten: Cecil Beaton, Bill Brandt, Barry Lategan, Don McCullin, Roger Mayne, Norman Parkinson, Rankin, Lord Snowdon, John Swannell, Albert Watson. Göttingen: Steidl, 2001. ISBN 3882434406. With work by Cecil BeatonCecil BeatonSir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
, Bill BrandtBill BrandtBill Brandt was an influential British photographer and photojournalist known for his high-contrast images of British society and his distorted nudes and landscapes.-Career and life:...
, Barry Lategan, Don McCullinDon McCullinDonald McCullin, FRPS CBE is an internationally known British photojournalist, particularly recognized for his war photography and images of urban strife...
, Norman ParkinsonNorman ParkinsonNorman Parkinson, CBE was a celebrated English portrait and fashion photographer.-Biography:Parkinson was born in London, and educated at Westminster School. He began his career in 1931 as an apprentice to the court photographers Speaight and Sons Ltd...
, RankinRankin (photographer)John Rankin Waddell, working name Rankin, born 1966, is a British portrait and fashion photographer.-Life and career:Waddell was brought up in St Albans, Hertfordshire. At the age of 21, whilst studying accounting at Brighton Polytechnic, he realized that his interests lay elsewhere and dropped...
, Lord SnowdonAntony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of SnowdonAntony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, GCVO, RDI is an English photographer and film maker. He was married to Princess Margaret, younger daughter of King George VI and younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II....
, John SwannellJohn SwannellJohn Swannell, born 1946, is an English photographer.After leaving school at 16, he worked first as an assistant at Vogue Studios and then assisted David Bailey for four years before setting up his own studio....
and Albert WatsonAlbert Watson (photographer)Albert Watson is a Scottish photographer well known for his fashion, celebrity and art photography, and whose work is featured in galleries and museums worldwide. He has shot over 200 covers of Vogue around the world and 40 covers of Rolling Stone magazine since the mid-1970s...
. - Roger Mayne. Photographs. London: Jonathan Cape, 2001. ISBN 0224060546.
- Tanya Barson, et al. Making history: Art and documentary in Britain from 1929 to now. London: Tate Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1854376829.