‘Children, the Gorbals, Glasgow'
About this artwork
Children are the trickiest of human subjects to photograph, because of their energy and restlessness. Yet Roger Mayne established his reputation during the 1950s and 1960s as one of the most sophisticated street photographers of children. This vivacious photograph was taken in the Gorbals in Glasgow, a predominantly working class neighbourhood on the south bank of the Clyde with a reputation for roughness and high crime rates. Traditionally, the area housed a large number of Irish immigrants, and the name comes from ‘Gort a' Bhaile’, or ‘famine of the farm’. Slum clearances in the nineteenth century did little to improve the area, but more recent efforts, including the demolition of the infamous Queen Elizabeth Square flats, have lowered crime rates and increased property value.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Roger Mayne (1929 - 2014) British
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title:‘Children, the Gorbals, Glasgow'
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date created:14 February 1958; printed 1989
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materials:Gelatin silver print
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1993
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accession number:PGP 193.5
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gallery:
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subject:
Roger Mayne
Roger Mayne
Roger Mayne was born in Cambridge in 1929. He studied Chemistry at Oxford from 1947-51. A self-taught photographer, he built his reputation between 1956-61 while working in Southam Street in London, taking children in the streets as his main subject. He has worked for The Times Literary Supplement...