The reaction to news of Martin Parr’s passing on December 6th 2025 was immediate and overwhelming. Often accused of flattening emotion and amplifying noise, social media briefly became a collective space of respectful remembrance. Photographers, editors, curators, students and casual admirers reached for their phones to articulate their Martin Parr tribute. The responses weren’t polished, they were from the gut.
Real time reactions
First reactions are often the most revealing, unfiltered and instinctive arriving before legacy has been neatly summarised. Collectively they remind us how widely Parr and his photography resonated. The shared sense of cultural loss wasn’t too dissimilar to the spontaneous outpouring that followed the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Parr was photographic Royalty after all.
Here are a selection of those early tributes that build a portrait of Parr, how his humour, empathy and insightful eye affected individuals across the globe. They tell us something vital, that he didn’t just document the world as it was – he changed how people looked at it and in some cases, how we look at ourselves.
Exhibiton
Martin Parr’s popular and seminal series, The Last Resort, will be exhibited from 20 FEB – 24 MAY at the Martin Parr Foundation @martinparrfdn 316 Paintworks, Bristol, UK, BS4 3AR. (+44) 0117 329 3270 martinparrfoundation.org
A TRIBUTES TRIBUTE
Simon Hill @scirebroc
Editorial & Documentary Photographer : President & Honorary Fellow, Royal Photographic Society : Fellow, Royal Geographical Society
Incredibly sad to hear of the death, yesterday, of Martin Parr (aged 73) – one of the most well-known and uniquely-talented of contemporary British documentary photographers. A great friend and supporter of the @royalphotographicsociety Martin was awarded an RPS Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS) in 2005, and the RPS Centenary Medal in 2008. He established the @martinparrfdn Martin Parr Foundation in 2017 and, since then, it has been a personal pleasure of mine to have shared so many conversations with Martin about photography, the future of the British documentary tradition, and of course his views on the role and purpose of the RPS. Diagnosed with cancer in 2021, Martin remained active to the end. On behalf of everyone at the RPS, I offer our deepest condolences to his wife Susie, his daughter Ellen, his sister Vivien and his grandson George.
Julia Fullerton Batten @julia_fullertonbatten
Fine Art and Commercial Photographer
So sad to hear today about the passing of Martin Parr. He was always everywhere and the most active photographer I have ever met. Always enjoyed bumping into him at Arles. Only recently did I go to his talk at the V&A. I wish we had more time with you. Martin, you will be greatly missed. RIP.
Jonny Nolan @jonny_nolan_
Events/Portrait Photographer & Assistant, Chester/London, UK
Martin Parr to me, like many other photographers, was a profoundly influential figure. Particularly when I started to take my photographic education more seriously at 16, when I began my BTEC at South Cheshire College in Crewe. Few photographers have left such a towering legacy and rightly will be remembered and renowned alongside fellow @magnumphotos alumni such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Eve Arnold. I subsequently got to meet him a handful of times during university and witness some of the first talks and exhibitions at his foundation (@martinparrfdn) in Bristol. Still some of the finest I’ve been lucky enough to attend in my life so far. RIP Martin Parr (1952-2025)
Sharon Price & Peter Dench, Photo North Festival @photonorthfest
We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Martin Parr. We were honoured to be loaned his iconic exhibition, Chew Stoke: A Year in the Life of an English Village in 2024. His accompanying talk delivered in his trademark witty, incisive and unmistakably human style, captivated visitors creating a lasting festival highlight. His involvement didn’t end there, checking-in from time to time with messages of encouragement and support. He has left an indelible mark on us and the festival. Martin made an extraordinary contribution to photography and organisations like Photo North. We will mourn his loss and look to continue to honour his work in future editions.
Simon Roberts @simoncroberts
Photographer and Director of @post_creatives
It’s difficult to add anything to the wonderful tributes paid to Martin over the past 24 hours. Just to say that this is how I’ll remember him: driving around Brighton on an open-top bus earlier this year with his beloved Susie, looking at photographs and entertaining us all with a big smile on his face. Most recently he generously supported our new photography endeavour (POST), which we are eternally grateful for. He celebrated his love of photography and life to the end, and will be sorely missed.
Jillian Edelstein @jillianedelstein
Photographer
‘I don’t really like being shot with a camera, too corny!’ Martin wrote, in our last correspondence. Quite right. I guess Daniel had his so we gave it a go. During the shoot as we walked across the car park at Bristol when he showed Daniel Meadows the building he’d acquired to continue, to widen the scope, the work of the Foundation. He never stopped working for the photo community, never gave the work a beat, a moment to take a breath… that’s how it seemed. Continuous devotion.
When someone like Martin affirms your work it means so much. In Bristol back in July I think he felt I wasn’t getting ‘the shot’ when I was struggling in the location. He had the last laugh, as he apparently muttered to Daniel that I was a ‘swisher’ … I love that… it’s true. Maybe he felt my hair was distracting me from getting the perfect shot. Either way, I like and am proud of the result.
Marc Wilson @marcwilsonphoto
Photographer
I first met Martin Parr 11 years go when he invited me to his house in Bristol. He asked if I could (and if I would like to) hand deliver my first book after he bought it online from my website. Over an hour of coffee, cakes and inspiring conversation from Martin followed, where I leant much about ‘being’ a photographer that I have tried to put into practice over the last decade. A selfless individual who gave more to the Photography community than a thousand elitist institutions ever could. He will be sorely missed by so many.
John McMurtrie @johnmcmurtrie666
Iron Maiden’s official photographer and a noted music and portrait photographer in his own right (Martin encouraged him to go pro)
Martin was a bloody genius photographer who captured a body of work that will be admired and used by generations to come. He had many critics who didn’t understand his work, mostly because a lot of his photos were unflattering for the subjects and our society. His work was immensely important and will live on as a historic document of our times. He was also massively supportive of new photographers and he gave me a lot of advise over the years, mostly to have your own style and not try and jump on the latest trend.
A little known fact is he was born in Epsom, Surrey (where I live) and agreed to be an ambassador for the Epsom Arts Festival, to hold an exhibition and judge a national photography competition. Sadly the organisers of the now defunct festival had never heard of Martin Parr and turned him down. That was very embarrassing as he was the Head of Magnum photos at the time and probably the greatest living photographer in the UK. I did see him several times over the years and he was always very friendly and encouraging of making photography a career. Bless you Martin and may your photos live on to inspire a whole new generation!
Tiffany Tangen @tiffanytangen
Head of Content and Production at Wex Photo Video
Today, we lost a truly great human being, and I lost a great friend. I am heartbroken to hear the news. I first met Martin in 2017 eating croissants at the Remote Scottish Postbox exhibition. We spent hours talking about who was doing interesting work. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. He was funny, kind, intelligent, satirical, generous and wonderful to be around. From dinners at the foundation, to drinks with good friends, looking at vintage prints. Because of our friendship, I have had some of the greatest memories of my life. It was an honour to call you a friend. To you, Martin. And to everything you gave to the world.
Nigel Atherton @nigelatherton
AP Editor
I had the pleasure of meeting Martin many times. I didn’t always find his work easy to like but I admired his unique way of seeing the world and his ability to create an instantly recognisable signature style. The man himself was always charming and he was a great friend to Amateur Photographer. His influence on photography was immeasurable, the platform he gave to new talent incalculable and his encyclopaedic knowledge of photographic history and culture unparalleled.
JJ Waller @jj.waller
Photographer
Parr Martin love & thanks for so much, but thanks most of all for your friendship. So very proud to have known you, worked with you and been inspired by you. Was hoping to see you in the Lidl Christmas jumper but glad to know you got it ok. You gave the world so very much ….R.I.P
Kevin Mullins @kevinmullinsphotography
Documentary & Wedding Photographer
Yesterday I learned that Martin Parr had died at home in Bristol, aged 73, after a long illness. It feels strange even writing that. Martin has been a presence in my photographic life for so long I’d started to believe he’d always be there, turning up with a camera and finding something sharp and funny in the most ordinary corners of Britain.
I was lucky enough to meet him several times. The last time I saw him was a few months ago. He was clearly not in perfect health, but he was engaged and still full of that familiar mischief. You always had the sense that even as you were chatting, he was composing pictures in his head.
One of the privileges of my career was interviewing him for The Fujicast. He didn’t need to say yes or give up his time, but he did, and he did it graciously, with that dry humour that was so “Martin”.
I’ve also been a supporter of the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol. I’ve spent hours there wandering, looking at prints, nosing through books and soaking in the breadth of what he cared about. It isn’t just a gallery; it feels like a living notebook of British and Irish photography.
All in the detail
Martin’s influence on me is enormous. From the early Hebden Bridge work through to The Last Resort, his pictures gave me permission to point the camera at the “unimportant” stuff – the bad food, the funny expressions, the details most people would tidy away. He showed that those things are the story.
As a wedding photographer, I’ve always talked about light, composition and moment, but underneath that is something I owe to him: the belief that real life is enough. You don’t need to beautify or flatter it into something else; you just need to see it clearly and be honest about what you’ve seen.
I take comfort in knowing that the Martin Parr Foundation and Magnum will look after his archive and legacy. But on a personal level, I’ll miss simply knowing he’s out there somewhere in Britain, pointing a camera at something most of us would walk past.
For what it’s worth, I’m grateful for his work and for the way he nudged me to trust the ordinary moments in front of me.Martin Parr has gone, but the way he taught us to look at the world is not going anywhere.
Tracy Marshall Grant @tracymarshallgrant1
Arts Producer/Director, specialising in development of arts organisations, festivals, archive, exhibitions & cultural projects
I can’t quite put into words yet how heartbreaking this loss today is for me and for our photography family. I’ll consume it and do a more appropriate post in the coming days on the decade of my work, projects, life and adventures that were with, or because of Martin. Suffice to say he was one of the most important people in so many ways in so much of my last 12 years of work and life. I will miss him in so many ways.
DMB @dmb_represents
Representing photographers & directors globally. Production & creative direction
It is a massive and near-impossible undertaking to express in a single post what Martin meant to us and to the world. He was a visionary, a renegade, and an absolute creative force. But more importantly he was a husband, a father, a mentor, and our friend. We should all consider ourselves so lucky to be able to revisit life through his eyes whenever we pick up one of his books or see one of his photographs, and we are so proud of the work we’ve made with him over the past 25 years. DMB will continue to do all we can to uphold his immense legacy.
Mimi Mollica @mimimollica
Photographer
I miss you already Mr Martin. I have no words that can describe how sad I am. Just want to celebrate your beauty with this photo, the last I will have ever taken of you, my friend. I love you.
Mark Power @marktpower
Photographer
Goodbye, my dear friend. 💔
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