The photography of Eric de Maré: Until 24 November

The RIBA is presenting an exhibition of the photographs of Eric de Maré (1910–2002), one of Britain’s most influential architectural photographers, born one hundred years ago.

Focusing on the industrial and vernacular architecture of everyday life, de Maré left an archive of striking images of Britain’s largely neglected industrial heritage. His photographs of anonymous structures such as warehouses, textile factories and canal buildings form a rare document of 20^th century Britain.

The exhibition will display 108 photographs showing a full spectrum of his life’s work. Organised by theme and largely chronological, the exhibition includes sections on Scandinavia, the Thames, canals, bridges, the surreal and the topographical and historical.

Robert Elwall, co-curator and assistant director at the British Architectural Library, said: “De Mare’s images made a telling contribution to the post-war reassessment of Modernism and greatly broadened the perception of where ’architecture’ was to be found. He gave a new respectability to architectural photography by extending its influence beyond the narrow confines of professional discourse. Together these attributes make de Maré one of Britain’s most important and influential architectural photographers.”

Complementing the Eric de Maré exhibition, a display exploring the photography of artist John Piper (1903–1992) and in particular his contributions to the Architectural Review, will be on show in the British Architectural Library at the RIBA. Piper’s photographs of subjects such as seaside architecture, nonconformist chapels and pubs not only influenced a generation of architects but also photographers such as Edwin Smith and de Maré.

For more information go to RIBA Programmes.