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] He received his first camera on his 15th birthday.[8]

In 1956, aged 18, he moved to Scotland to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh.[9] He graduated in 1964 and stayed in Edinburgh to work as a junior doctor with the city's royal infirmary 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.[9][10]

Blomfield’s work has been compared to Henri Cartier-Bresson[8] and Oscar Marzaroli. His Edinburgh photography is notable for capturing the changing look of the city as new architecture took hold in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as documenting some of the large public gatherings of the time. 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.”[11] In 1970, he photographed the first ever Glastonbury Festival (then known as Pilton Pop Folk and Blues festival).[12]

His archive is held by the University of Edinburgh who have pledged to share it with the “widest possible audience”.[11] In May 2020, the University of Edinburgh held an exhibition titled "Robert Blomfield: Student of Light." The exhibition focused on Blomfield’s time as a student and included images of a smoke-filled student union as sunlight streams in through windows, an anatomy lecture, a rowing contest, and crowds waiting to see Prince Philip in 1958, among others. It also featured some of his camera equipment, including lenses, enlargers, filters and an astronomical telescope used to achieve a large depth of field.[8]

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.[13] Jane died in 2011.[7] Blomfield died in December 2020, aged 82.[7][9]

Publications

  • Edinburgh 1957 – 1966. Liverpool: Bluecoat, 2020. ISBN 9781908457608.[14]

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. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "'I didn't have to set the stage … the stage set itself': The work of Robert Blomfield". The National. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Blomfield, Johnny (22 February 2021). "Robert Blomfield obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Bakare, Lanre (2 May 2022). "Edinburgh show will display street photographer's never-before-seen work". The Guardian.
  9. 1 2 3 McLean, David. "Acclaimed street photographer who rose to prominence with post-war images of Edinburgh dies aged 82". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "Biography". Robert Blomfield. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Archive of Edinburgh street photographer unknown for decades gets permanent home in the city". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  12. ↑ Butler, Jackie; Santillo, Erin (15 January 2022). "First-ever Glastonbury Festival brought back to life with rare colour photos". Daily Post (North Wales).
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ "Robert Blomfield's stunning pictures locked away for decades, revealed to the world". The Frontier Post. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "Aesthetica Magazine - Changing Landscapes". Aesthetica Magazine. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Robert Blomfield: Edinburgh Street Photography". Museums and Galleries Edinburgh. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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