Ordinary Beauty

RIBA’s new Architecture Gallery presents “Ordinary Beauty: The Photography of Edwin Smith”, the first major retrospective of one of Britain’s foremost 20th century photographers.

“Ordinary Beauty: The Photography of Edwin Smith” will display over 100 extraordinary black and white photographs from a collection of over 60,000 negatives and 20,000 prints given by Olive Cook, Smith’s widow and collaborator, to the RIBA Library.

From urban scenes documenting British social history to evocative landscape images and atmospheric interiors, the images displayed reveal the genius and breadth of his work. Alongside his images of Britain the exhibition will show photographs taken on his travels to Europe as well as his published books and photographic equipment. Specially filmed contributions ranging from Alan Bennett to broadcaster Gillian Darley offer personal perspectives of Smith’s work.

Edwin Smith (1912 – 1971) was highly sought-after by publishers and in the 1950s he was commissioned by Thames & Hudson for a series of books, among them English Parish Churches (1952), English Cottages & Farmhouses (1954), Scotland (1955), England (1957), and The Living City: A New View of the City of London (1957). His work featured in Vogue, Shell Guides and numerous other publications illustrating features and books on subjects varying from Great Houses of Europe to The Wonders of Italy.

Clothes line, Glencaple, Scotland, 1954 © Edwin Smith, RIBA Photographs Collection

Left: St Columba's Wells, Londonderry (Derry) , N Ireland, 1965 © Edwin Smith, RIBA Library Photographs Collection. Right: St Lawrence, Didmarton, Gloucestershire, 1962 © Edwin Smith, RIBA Library Photographs Collection

Left: Two boys on doorstep, Kilkenny, Ireland, 1965 © Edwin Smith, RIBA Library Photographs Collection. Right: Villa Garzoni, Collodi, Tuscany 1961 © Edwin Smith, RIBA Library Photographs Collection

from September 10 until December 6, 2014
Ordinary Beauty
The Photography of Edwin Smith
Architecture Gallery, RIBA
66 Portland Place, London, W1

Ordinary Beauty

RIBA’s new Architecture Gallery presents “Ordinary Beauty: The Photography of Edwin Smith”, the first major retrospective of one of Britain’s foremost 20th century photographers.

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