United Kingdom • 1941-1972

The English Seen

Tony Ray-Jones is one of those artists who left this world too soon. Despite having lived a mere thirty years, his name is now inextricably linked to English photography. After training at the London College of Printing and then at Yale in the United States, he discovered the vitality of the era’s American photography scene, driven by leading street photographers such as Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander and Joel Meyerowitz.

Upon his return to the UK, he travelled around the seaside resorts of Blackpool, Margate and Brighton, paying close attention to the details that encapsulated English life at the time : elegant outfits, picnics thwarted by the rain and other little social rituals. His style, characterised by empathy mingled with irony and spontaneity, opened up a new path for photography. He offered a new perspective on his fellow Brits’ habits and ways, without ever descending into needless malice. Curious about everything and keen to get off the beaten track, this young photographic prodigy was driven by an insatiable yet methodological photographic appetite, enhancing each of his mischievous shots with flawless artistic composition. At the time, his work was discovered by a young photographer, for whom it proved to be a revelation. That photographer’s name ? Martin Parr! Without Tony Ray-Jones, Martin Parr probably wouldn’t have found his life’s calling.

Tony Ray-Jones died of leukaemia in 1972, aged just 31, leaving behind a brief but already comprehensive and profound body of work that deserves to be spotlighted in France. As is often the case in such circumstances, the value of Ray-Jones’ photography was only truly recognised after his death. His contact sheets reflect his desire to capture the « English soul » at both its most trivial and universal. Today, as with many giants of the art scene, his influence continues to grow. Many photographers draw on his legacy, whether consciously or otherwise, to reconnect with the origins of a photographic style imbued with a passion for observing life’s little idiosyncrasies.

LA PRAIRIE