In memory of Ralph Marshall, from his wife, Beryl 1985.204
Location
not on view
Ralph Marshall
Ralph Marshall British, 1923-1984
Ralph Marshall was most recognized for his extended series Festivals of Man, which included such subjects as the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico, and Portugal's annual blessing of the sardine fleet. His oeuvre also included still lifes, portraits, landscapes, and architectural studies, often abstracted.
Self-taught, Marshall began taking photographs at age 13, borrowing a box camera from his father's shop for weekend explorations. At 17, he attempted unsuccessfully to buy a portrait studio in his small industrial hometown of Todmorden in Yorkshire, and by the age of 25 was an associate of the Royal Photographic Society of England. A graduate of St. Peter's College at the University of Birmingham, Marshall served in the Royal Air Force, traveling throughout India and the Far East as part of a military entertainment unit that included Peter Sellers. Before moving to the United States in 1966, he taught at Manchester Polytechnic, acted as Distinguished Assessor for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Program for Photography, and served as photographer for the National Youth Theatre of London. In 1966 Marshall became chairman of the photography department at the Cleveland Institute of Art. He taught and was active as a commercial photographer until his death. A.W.