His color photos made him famous – but these early black-and-white images prove that Martin Parr was always a master
January 26, 2026
Martin Parr, who died last December aged 73, was best known for his highly saturated color work. But before The Last Resort brought him to fame in 1986, he’d spent years mastering black-and-white photography with the same forensic eye and wry humour.
Now a new exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery in London, England, reveals exactly what that looked like.
The show centers around his…