| Admin History | Don McPhee was a Guardian staff photographer based in Manchester. He began contributing to the paper in 1968 and joined staff in 1971 on retirement of Tom Stuttard. His extensive photojournalistic output includes series on miners' strikes, pensioners, Belfast riots, British agriculture, South African and United States presidential election campaigns. His portraiture work includes; Nelson Mandela, Jesse Jackson, Margaret Thatcher, Neil Kinnock and Enoch Powell. A Guardian photography enthusiast, McPhee conducted intitial research with Denis Thorpe on the '100 Years of Guardian Photography' project. Also discovered original glass plate negatives by the Guardian's first photographer Walter Doughty whilst cleaning out an old staff darkroom (see WHD). He said of his work 'You Have What I Saw'. Worked predominantly in black and white (but later with colour) using plate cameras, 120 square format film, 35mm film and digital formats. Received an Honorary degree from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2000. Solo exhibitions include; 'The View From Manchester', Manchester Art Gallery (2005), 'Don McPhee: Photographer', Guardian Newsroom (2008) and 'You Have What I Saw', Cornerstone Gallery, Liverpool (2011). Group exhibitions include 'A Long Exposure: 100 Years of Guardian Photography', The Lowry, Manchester (2008-9). Publications include 'Don McPhee: Photographer' (2008), The Guardian. |
| Custodial History | Donated to the archive by Don McPhee, Lillian McPhee and Denis Thorpe between 2002 and 2010. |