Robert Blomfield

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Blomfield (16 March 1938 – 14 December 2020)[1] was a British street photographer.[2][3][4] In 2018 he had an exhibition of work made in Edinburgh at the City Art Centre there,[5] and in 2020 a book of his Edinburgh work was published.[6] Blomfield worked as a family doctor.

Early life and education[]

Blomfield was born in Leeds to freelance journalist Mary (née Gough) and George Blomfield, a surgeon and engineer, and an amateur photographer. He was the eldest of five children and grew up in Sheffield.[7]

In 1956, aged 18, he moved to Scotland to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, where he remained until 1967.[8] He was a junior doctor in London.[7]

Life and work[]

Blomfield practised as a family doctor in Wrexham then Hebden Bridge.[7]

He made street photography all over the UK from the late 1950s in Edinburgh, through to the early 1970s.[8][9]

Blomfield’s work has been compared to Oscar Marzaroli. When his work was displayed at the City Art Centre in 2018 he said, “After 50 years, I’m thrilled to be able to share some of my pictures with the wider world. Edinburgh is a city that remains close to my heart, and the interaction of its residents with this most dramatic of urban stages provided me with endless inspiration as a young photographer.”[10]

His archive is held by the University of Edinburgh who have pledged to share it with the “widest possible audience”. An exhibition is planned in May 2022. [10]

Personal life[]

In 1965 he met Jane Alexander, an art historian working at the Courtauld Institute. They married in 1975 and had three sons, William, George and Edward. In 1985, they moved to Hebden Bridge., Jane was co-founder of the Steiner School there.[11] Jane died in 2011.[7] Blomfield died in December 2020, aged 82.[7][8]

Publications[]

  • Edinburgh 1957 – 1966. Liverpool: Bluecoat, 2020. ISBN 9781908457608.[12]

Exhibitions[]

References[]

  1. ^ Nimmann, Ralph. "Lives Remembered - Robert Blomfield". www.hebdenbridge.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ "In pictures: 'Unseen' Edinburgh archive from the 50s and 60s". BBC News. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Tender, bold and humorous photographs of 1960's Edinburgh developed forty years later". Creative Boom. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  4. ^ Smith, Laura. "The secret photographer: Fifty years on, Robert Blomfield reveals street-life frames for the first time". sundaypost.com. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Street theatre: how a student with a camera charted changing face of Edinburgh in 1960s". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  6. ^ "'I didn't have to set the stage … the stage set itself': The work of Robert Blomfield". The National. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e Blomfield, Johnny (22 February 2021). "Robert Blomfield obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b c McLean, David. "Acclaimed street photographer who rose to prominence with post-war images of Edinburgh dies aged 82". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Biography". Robert Blomfield. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Archive of Edinburgh street photographer unknown for decades gets permanent home in the city". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  11. ^ penninepens.co.uk, Website development by Pennine Pens at http://www penninepens co uk-email webmaster at. "Lives Remembered - Robert Blomfield". www.hebdenbridge.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Robert Blomfield's stunning pictures locked away for decades, revealed to the world". The Frontier Post. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Aesthetica Magazine - Changing Landscapes". Aesthetica Magazine. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Robert Blomfield: Edinburgh Street Photography". Museums and Galleries Edinburgh. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""