Peter Henry Emerson: Norwich UEA exhibition celebrates trailblazing photographer

The work of a trailblazing Victorian photographer has gone on display alongside contemporary photographs taken in the seaside town that he loved.

Peter Henry Emerson captured images across Great Yarmouth and the Norfolk Broads to showcase his naturalistic approach to the artform.

The trained doctor, who was born in Cuba and moved to England as a teenager, was attracted to East Anglia by its traditions.

He focused on the area and its people in his work between 1885 and 1895.

In the summer of 2021, the debut Finding Emerson Photo Festival was staged across the resort and port to celebrate its place in the history of photography.

Both professional and amateur photographers were invited to submit their images of everyday life in the town, with judges choosing the winners.

A selection of the chosen images have now been put on show in a free exhibition, Finding Emerson, at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich until 14 December.

They will be displayed alongside a collection of photographs from two of Emerson's portfolios: Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads and Wild Life on a Tidal Water.

Emerson has been recognised as a major pioneer in the discipline and was also one of the first photographers to combine text and images in his books.

However, while he believed photography was an independent artform, his views were dismissed by some traditional artists.

He died in 1936, and it was not until 1975 and the publication of Nancy Newhall's book, PH Emerson: The Fight for Photography as a Fine Art, that he became such a landmark figure in the development of modern photography.

The next biennial Finding Emerson Photo Festival, curated by art schemes Utter Nonsense and Original Projects, will be held in Great Yarmouth in 2023.

Finding Emerson runs from 09:30 to 16:30 GMT, Monday to Friday, until 14 December 2022, at the Enterprise Centre, UEA, Norwich

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk