People from Behind (photographing the sea), 2016
Paddy Summerfield as born in Derby in 1947 and has lived and worked as a photographer in Oxford all his life. He trained at Guildford School of Art in the Photography and the Film departments
He gained acclaim early on when photographs that he took in 1967, when still a first year student, were published in the celebrated journal Album, and early spreads in the prestigious Creative Camera also gained him recognition. Summerfield first exhibited in London in the late 1960s, and his work has been shown at many galleries, including the ICA, The Barbican, The Serpentine Gallery, and The Photographers' Gallery.
Despite being one of the most emotionally powerful photographers in Britain, Summerfield's work is less well known than it should be. However, recent publications are beginning to give Summerfield the reputation and staus that his work deserves. In 2014, Dewi Lewis published Summerfield's book Mother And Father, which was selected by Sean O'Hagan of The Observer as one of the Top Ten Photobooks of 2014, and by Kassel Photobooks as one of their Top Thirty 2014-2015. The Oxford Pictures 1968-1980 was published by Dewi Lewis Publishing in 2016 and his next book, Empty Days, promises to be one of his strongest.
Despite being one of the most emotionally powerful photographers in Britain, Summerfield's work is less well known than it should be. However, recent publications are beginning to give Summerfield the reputation and staus that his work deserves. In 2014, Dewi Lewis published Summerfield's book Mother And Father, which was selected by Sean O'Hagan of The Observer as one of the Top Ten Photobooks of 2014, and by Kassel Photobooks as one of their Top Thirty 2014-2015. The Oxford Pictures 1968-1980 was published by Dewi Lewis Publishing in 2016 and his next book, Empty Days, promises to be one of his strongest.