Mary Ellen Mark

Mary Ellen Mark (March 20, 1940 – May 25, 2015) was an American photographer known for her photojournalism, documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography. She photographed people who were "away from mainstream society and toward its more interesting, often troubled fringes".

Mark had 21 collections of her work published, most notably Streetwise and Ward 81. and began photographing with a Box Brownie camera After graduating, she worked briefly in the Philadelphia city planning department, She described her approach to her subjects: "I’ve always felt that children and teenagers are not "children," they’re small people. I look at them as little people and I either like them or I don’t like them. I also have an obsession with mental illness. And strange people who are outside the borders of society." Mark also said "I’d rather pull up things from another culture that are universal, that we can all relate to...There are prostitutes all over the world. I try to show their way of life." and that "I feel an affinity for people who haven't had the best breaks in society. What I want to do more than anything is acknowledge their existence". Mark was well known for establishing strong relationships with her subjects. produced her book Streetwise (1988) and was developed into the documentary film Streetwise, For Look magazine, she photographed Federico Fellini shooting Satyricon (1969). using a wide range of cameras in various formats, from 35 mm, 120/220, 4×5-inch view camera, and a 20×24 Polaroid Land Camera,

She published 21 books of photographs and contributed to publications that include Life, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, New York Times, and Vanity Fair.

Mark was a Documentary Competition Juror at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

Mark joined Magnum Photos in 1977 and left in 1981, joining Archive Pictures and then in 1988 opened her own agency. and taught workshops at the International Center of Photography in New York, in Mexico and at the Center for Photography at Woodstock.

Mark and her husband Martin Bell worked on the documentary film Streetwise together. The film was based on Mark's photographic essay "Streets of the Lost" made on assignment for Life magazine with writer Cheryl McCall.

Mark and Bell continued to document one of the characters from Streetwise, Erin "Tiny" Blackwell. The film Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell and the book Tiny: Streetwise Revisited are the culmination of this 30+ year journey.

They also collaborated on other film projects in conjunction with Mark's photographic projects, including Twins, Prom, Indian Circus and Extraordinary Child.

She was the associate producer and still photographer for the feature film American Heart (1992), starring Jeff Bridges and Edward Furlong, and directed by Martin Bell.

Publications Passport. New York: Lustrum Press, 1974. . Photojournalism: Mary Ellen Mark and Annie Leibovitz: The Woman's Perspective. Petersons, 1974. . Ward 81. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1979. . Main text by Karen Folger Jacobs, introduction by Miloš Forman. 2nd ed. Bologna: Damiani, 2008. . Falkland Road: Prostitutes of Bombay: Photographs and Text. New York: Knopf, 1981. . Photographs of Mother Teresa's Mission of Charity in Calcutta. Carmel, CA: Friends of Photography, 1985. . Introduction by David Featherston. Streetwise. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1988. . Text and photographs edited by Nancy Baker, introduction by John Irving. Second printing. New York: Aperture, 1992. . The Photo Essay. Photographers at Work series. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990. . Mary Ellen Mark: 25 Years. New York: Bulfinch, 1991. . Text by Marianne Fulton. Accompanied an exhibition at George Eastman House. Indian Circus. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1993, and Japan: Takarajimasha, 1993. . Foreword by John Irving. Portraits. Milan: Federico Motta, 1995. . Italian-language version. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1997. . Foreword by Mary Panzer. A Cry for Help: Stories of Homelessness and Hope. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. . Introduction by Andrew Cuomo, preface by Robert Coles, interviews reported by Victoria Kohn. Mary Ellen Mark: American Odyssey. New York: Aperture, 1999. . Edited by Melissa Harris, afterword by Mark and with a poem each by Maya Angelou and La Shawndrea. Accompanied an exhibition by Philadelphia Museum of Art. "A broad survey of photographs taken across the United States from 1963–1999." Mary Ellen Mark 55. Phaidon 55 series. London: Phaidon, 2001. . "A collection of both iconic and previously unpublished photographs." Man and Beast: Photographs from Mexico and India. Austin: University of Texas, 2014. . With transcript of an interview with Mark by Melissa Harris. Mary Ellen Mark on the Portrait and the Moment. The Photography Workshop Series. New York: Aperture, 2015. . Tiny: Streetwise Revisited. New York: Aperture, 2015. . With an afterword by Mark, a prologue by Isabel Allende and text by John Irving. The Book of Everything. Göttingen, Germany: Steidl, 2020. Edited by Martin Bell. .

Exhibitions 1994-95 – Mary Ellen Mark: 25 Years, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. 2000 – Mary Ellen Mark: Photographs, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2003 – Twins, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York 2004 – Mary Ellen Mark: Twins and Falkland Road, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, Illinois 2005 – Falkland Road, Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York 2008 – Mary Ellen Mark: The Prom Series, Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York 2009 – Seen Behind The Scene, Staley-Wise Gallery, New York 2012 – Prom: Photographs, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2014 – Mary Ellen Mark: Man and Beast, Wittliff Collections, Texas State University, San Macros, Texas 2016 – Attitude: Portraits by Mary Ellen Mark, 1964–2015, Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York 2017 – Looking For Home: A Yearlong Focus, The Museum of Street Culture, Dallas, Texas 2020-21 – Mary Ellen Mark: Twins, the San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California 2021 – Mary Ellen Mark: Girlhood, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. 2023 – Mary Ellen Mark: Ward 81, The Image Centre, Toronto, Canada 2023–24 – Mary Ellen Mark: Retrospective, C/O Berlin, Amerika-Haus, Berlin, Germany

Recognition and awards columns-list|colwidth=35em| 1965–66: Fulbright Scholarship to take photographs in Turkey. 1981: First Prize, Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, "Mother Teresa in Calcutta", Life Magazine 1982: Leica Medal of Excellence, Falkland Road 1986: The Phillipe Halsman Award for Photojournalism, American Society of Magazine Photographers 1987: Photographer of the Year Award, The Friends of Photography 1988: World Press Photo Award, for Outstanding Body of Work Throughout the Years 1988: Distinguished Photographer's Award, Women in Photography 1989: The World Hunger Media Awards, Best Photojournalism, "Children of Poverty", Life 1990: Pictures of the Year Award for Magazine Portrait/Personality, "The Face of Rural Poverty", Fortune Magazine 1992: Society of Newspaper Design, Award of Excellence, Magazine Cover and Photojournalism Feature, The New York Times Magazine 1993: Front Page Award, The Newswomen's Club of New York, "Cree Indians" for Condé Nast Traveler 1994: The Professional Photographer of the Year Award, Photographic Manufacturers and Distributors Association 1995: Pictures of the Year, 1st Place Magazine Division, "Napping" Freelance/Life 1996: Pictures of the Year, 1st Place Magazine Division, for issue reporting "Damm Family"; 3rd place in Magazine division for picture essay 1996: Master Series Award, School of Visual Arts 1997: Infinity Award, International Center of Photography 1998: The Art Directors Club Silver Award, "El Circo" 1998: The Society of Publication Designers, Gold Medal Award for Design Entire Issue, "Battle of the Generations", Fast Company 1999: Leadership Award, International Photographic Council 1999: Photographic Administrators Incorporated, Award for Excellence in Photojournalism 2001: Cornell Capa Award, International Center of Photography 2003: World Press Photo Awards, First Prize in the Arts (Twins series) 2003: Lucie Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Photography. 2006: Visionary Woman Award, Moore College of Art & Design 2014: 2014 Lifetime Achievement in Photography Award from the George Eastman House. 1997: Hasselblad Foundation Grant to continue work on American Odyssey