Regular readers of this blog will be aware of my ongoing research into the architectural photographer and historian Ursula Clark (1940-2000).
In late-February 2025, I presented an online talk for the Royal Photographic Society marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of her death.
Ursula Clark online talk – 28th February 2025
It drew on Historic England’s collection of 20,000 negatives that is the largest in its care by a woman photographer.
In the 1960s and 1970s, these images were used to illustrate architectural books and guides about Britain and Europe published by Oriel Press of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Alongside Ursula’s wonderful black-and-white photos, the talk shared new research about her life and career that generated interest far beyond the expected niche audience.
However, my efforts to track down Ursula’s widower, who had originally donated her archive to Historic England, proved unsuccessful.
Earlier this year, I unexpectedly received an email from a relative of his who had watched my Royal Photographic Society talk recording on YouTube.
They told me that though Ursula’s husband had died in 2024, two of her cameras had been found whilst clearing the loft of his home in Northumberland.
Those cameras together with other photographic equipment have since been donated to the Historic England archive in Swindon where they are now part of the Ursula Clark Collection.
Unsurprisingly, this discovery has helped further inform understanding of her photographic practice.
In the next Pressphotoman blogpost, I will detail that new research about an architectural photographer and historian whose reputation continues to grow.
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