3 February
–
23 April 2006
Section
1: Defining DocumentaryHumphrey Spender 1910-2005
Woman busker with street organ from a pub
in Whitechapel c. 1937-8
© The Humphrey Spender Archive
Spender studied architecture in Germany in 1927-28; during this time he became familiar with the New Objectivity movement and key illustrated journals which influenced his later documentary style. During the 1930s, both prior to and concurrently with his work for Mass-Observation, Spender worked on several diverse documentary projects. The photographs here come from a number of different series. Some were taken at the request of a Probation Officer to evidence bad living conditions, others are from a 1938 Picture Post feature on Whitechapel, while the last comes from a series on London parks.