1948 - 2022

These images represent McCabeʼs last body of photographic work and reflect his enormous affection for Suffolk and its inspirational geography and nature. They are the result of a collaboration with artist Susan Brinkhurst, who approached him early in 2022 to ask him to help record the reed beds fringing the River Alde in East Suffolk alongside the Snape Maltings arts centre, founded by composer Benjamin Britten and his partner Peter Pears.

These striking new abstract black and white images by McCabe were shot during regular excursions along the banks of the river and feature tangled reeds and muddy layers
formed by the shifting tides. The project was cut short when McCabe tragically died suddenly in October 2022 but Rebecca and Mabel pledged to edit and exhibit his final work.

One of the most celebrated and admired newspaper photographers of his generation, the late Eamonn McCabe made his name in sport in the 1970s before winning plaudits for his photojournalism and portraiture.
As a young, largely self-taught photographer, McCabe cut his teeth on local newspapers in north London before joining The Observer as a sports photographer in 1976. He was later hired as the trailblazing picture editor of the Guardian at a key moment in its history in the run-up to its redesign in 1988.

During his 50-plus year career McCabe won picture editor of the year an unprecedented six times and sports photographer of the year four times. In 1985 he was awarded news photographer of the year for his harrowing images of the Heysel stadium disaster in Brussels.

In 2001 he pivoted to portraiture, photographing key figures from Tony Blair to Iris Murdoch and Lou Reed to Desmond Tutu. He crafted a memorable series of writersʼ rooms for a
new Guardian series and shot regular portraits of artists in their studios for The Royal Academyʼs RA magazine.

The National Portrait Gallery holds 29 of his images in its permanent collection, including those of artists Frank Auerbach, Maggi Hambling and Paula Rego. As a highly-respected broadcaster, educator, judge and pundit, he enthused the wider public about photography through his books and TV programmes including Britain in Focus for BBC Four.

McCabe adored the vast skies and landscapes of his adopted home county of Suffolk where he lived with his wife Rebecca and daughter Mabel.

With the support of the Royal Photographic Society and the Guardian, McCabe’s family has set up an annual bursary to help aspiring young photographers. Proceeds of sales from this exhibition will supplement the bursary.

http://www.eamonnmccabe.co.uk/biography.html www.rps.org/McCabe
Enquiries: rebeccacjsmithers@gmail.com