Eamonn McCabe

Eamonn Patrick McCabe (28 July 1948 – 2 October 2022) was a British photographer. He began as a sports photographer and later worked in editorial portrait photography. Many of his portraits are held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Early life and education Eamonn Patrick McCabe was born in Highgate, North London on 28 July 1948, to Celia (née Henchy), a hotel receptionist, and James McCabe, a taxi driver. He briefly attended film school in San Francisco, but was otherwise self-taught in photography.

His work encompasses a variety of subjects and topics, but he has largely concentrated on portraits of those in the arts. These include actors, writers, poets, artists, and musicians. He was honoured as news photographer of the year for the photos he took of the disaster. McCabe also photographed matches between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Brendan Foster winning the 10,000-metre race at the 1978 AAA Championships in the rain, Li Zhenshi and his extremely high serve, and The Boat Race 1978 that saw the sinking of Cambridge's boat. One series of photographs for the Guardian Review was a study of writers desks, his work included the desks of Beryl Bainbridge, Seamus Heaney and Hilary Mantel.

McCabe was visiting senior fellow in photography at the University of Suffolk, held an honorary doctorate of the University of East Anglia and Staffordshire University, and was an honorary professor at Thames Valley University.

Personal life and death McCabe was married to journalist Rebecca Smithers until his death. Together, they had one child. He also had another child from a previous marriage.

Publications Eamonn McCabe: Sports Photographer. London: Aurum, 1982. Compiled by Geoffrey Nicholson. . With a foreword by Hugh McIlvanney. The Pope in Britain: the Official Record. London: Bodley Head, 1982. . With forewords by Basil Hume and Gordon Gray. Eamonn McCabe: Photographer. London: Kingswood, 1987. . With text by Simon Barnes and a foreword by Edward Lucie-Smith. The Making of Great Photographs: approaches and techniques of the masters. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 2005; 2008. Artists and their Studios. Battle: Angela Patchell, 2008. Photographs by McCabe and text by Michael McNay. . Decade. Phaidon, 2010. Edited by McCabe. . With text by Terence McNamee. From Above: The Story of Aerial Photography. Laurence King, 2019. By McCabe and Gemma Padley. .

Collections McCabe's work is held in the following permanent collection: National Portrait Gallery, London: 29 prints (as of 28 January 2022)