Mary Ellen Mark Passes Away At Age 75

Mary Ellen Mark 1940-2015

It is with a sad heart that I report on the passing of one of the most influential image makers of our time, Mary Ellen Mark. Throughout her 50 year career in photography, she published 17 photography books and her work has been exhibited around the world. Hit the jump for more information.

Mary Ellen Mark, 1940 – 2015

Mary Ellen Mark 1940-2017
Mary Ellen Mark, 1973. Photo © Ralph Gibson

She was perhaps one of the greatest documentary photographers of the 20th century and her humanist photography has graced the pages of such publications as LIFE, the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair.

She was an avid film shooter and never embraced digital photography. Choosing instead to work with film and silver prints instead of Photoshop. “That’s the way I learned photography: You make your picture in the camera. Now, so much is made in the computer… I’m not anti-digital, I just think, for me, film works better.”

Mary Ellen Mark received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement in Photography Award from the George Eastman House as well as the Outstanding Contribution Photography Award from the World Photography Organization.

She was a true giant both in portraiture and in photojournalism and she will be missed by many.

Please share your thoughts on Mary Ellen Mark’s life and work by posting a comment below.

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