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Graham Smith

b. 1947

British photographer (born 1947)

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About Graham Smith

Born 1947. Graham Smith is a British photographer, visual artist and woodworker.

Graham Smith (born 1947) is a photographer from Middlesbrough, England, who was particularly active in photographing Middlesbrough and the north-east of England in the 1970s and 1980s. Smith curtailed his career as a photographer in 1990, since when he has been a professional woodworker.

Life and work Smith studied at the Middlesbrough College of Art and later the Royal College of Art (London). In the 1970s, he was among the photographers central to the Side Gallery, and created a series of photographs that showed working-class people in the north of England that were in a documentary style but were in fact montages. Work from the 1980s would show people within townscapes, and in the words of David Alan Mellor, were "atmospheric, steeped in popular (and personal) memory — dark, romantic places with all the melancholy attributed to Eugène Atget's familiar locations".

Smith curtailed his career as a photographer in 1990, since when he has been a professional woodworker. His writing has appeared in Granta.

Smith's photographs are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (New York), and the Victoria and Albert Museum (London).

Exhibitions Documents of the North East. With Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, James Cleet, and Robert Carling. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1977. Three Perspectives on Photography: Recent British Photography. Hayward Gallery, London, June–July 1979. With Thomas Cooper, Brian Griffin, Raymond Moore, Roger Palmer, Martin Parr, Aileen Ferriday, Christine Hobbeheydar, Yve Lomax, Sarah McCarthy, Jo Spence, Valerie Wilmer, Victor Burgin, Robert Golden, Hackney Flashers, Alexis Hunter. North Tyneside. With Izabela Jedrzejczyk, Markéta Luskačová, and Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1981. Three from Britain. With Chris Killip and Martin Parr. Rose Gallery, Santa Monica, March–May 2008.

Writing "Albert Smith." Granta 95: Loved Ones. Granta, 2006. .

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Important facts

Born
1947, Middlesbrough
Birth century
Nationality
Education
The Northern School of Art
Also known as
Graham Smith (1947-), G. Smith

People in Graham Smith's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Graham Smith's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Graham Smith?

British photographer (born 1947)

When was Graham Smith born?

Graham Smith was born in 1947 in Middlesbrough.

What is Graham Smith's occupation?

Graham Smith is a photographer, visual artist and woodworker.

What nationality is Graham Smith?

Graham Smith is British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Graham Smith

· Wikidata: Q5593252

· DBpedia: Graham Smith (photographer)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Graham Smith. https://biography.guide/graham-smith-photographer/

MLA: "Graham Smith." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/graham-smith-photographer/.

Chicago: "Graham Smith." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/graham-smith-photographer/.

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