Jem Southam
Jem Southam (born 1950) is a British landscape photographer and educator. He has had solo exhibitions at Tate St Ives, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Lowry, and the Royal West of England Academy. Southam's work is held in the collections of the British Council; UK Government Art Collection; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Science Museum Group, UK; Tate, UK; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Jem Southam
- Born
- 1950 · Bristol.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- photographer
- Languages
- English
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Jem Southam (born 1950) is a British landscape photographer and educator. He has had solo exhibitions at Tate St Ives, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Lowry, and the Royal West of England Academy. Southam's work is held in the collections of the British Council; UK Government Art Collection; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Science Museum Group, UK; Tate, UK; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
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Jem Southam (born 1950) is a British photographer. The photographer was born in Bristol.
Languages used include English. Works by Jem Southam are held at Tate and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q18434085 · wikipedia · Jem Southam
In this article
Life and work
Life and work
Southam was born in Bristol. He studied creative photography at the London College of Printing, then worked at Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol from 1976 to 1982. He taught at Falmouth School of Art then taught photography for many years at the University of Plymouth where he is now emeritus Professor of Photography in the School of Art, Design and Architecture. Predominantly, "Southam's subject is the rural landscape of the South West of England, where he lives and works." He conducts long-term studies of selected sites, that trace changes over seasons and even several years. His first project, in black and white, was The Floating Harbour: a Landscape History of Bristol City Docks (1977–84). All subsequent series are in colour and include Paintings of the West of Cornwall (1982–86); and The Long White Cloud, made in New Zealand at the end of 2018. He uses an 8×10 large format view camera.
Solo exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
• Jem Southam: From A Distance: An Industrial Landscape in Cornwall, Tate St Ives, St Ives, 2004/5 • Jem Southam: Path to a Picture, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2006 • Clouds Descending, The Lowry, Salford, 2010 • Jem Southam: A Bend in The River, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, 2023
Publications
• The Floating Harbour – A landscape history of Bristol City Docks. Redcliff, 1982. With John Lord. • The Red River. Manchester: Cornerhouse, 1989. With essays by D.M.Thomas, Frank Turk and Jan Ruhrmund. • The Raft of Carrots. London: The Photographers' Gallery, 1992. With an essay by David Chandler. • Rockfalls, Rivermouths and Ponds. Eastbourne: Towner Gallery; Maidstone: Photoworks, 2000. With essays by David Chandler, Ian Jeffrey and Jeremy Millar. • Landscape Stories. Princeton Architectural Press/Blindspot, 2005. With essays by Andy Grundberg and Gerry Badger.. • The Painter's Pool. Nazraeli, 2007. With an essay by Chris Cook. • Clouds Descending. Salford: Lowry, 2008 With essays by Nick Alfrey, Lindsay Brooks, David Chandler, Richard Hamblyn, Matthew Southam and Harriet Tarlo. • Rockfalls and Ponds. La Fabrica / PHotoEspaña, 2010. With an introduction by Sergio Mah. • The Moth. London: Mack. 2018. • Four Winters. London: Stanley/Barker, 2022.. • The Harbour. Bristol: RRB, 2023.
Collections
Southam's work is held in the following permanent collections: • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: 1 print (as of 10 October 2022) • British Council, UK • Government Art Collection, UK: 4 prints (as of 10 October 2022) • J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California: 7 prints (as of 10 October 2022) • Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri: 2 prints (as of 11 October 2022) • Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam • Science Museum Group, UK: 5 prints (as of 10 October 2022) • Tate, UK: 12 prints (as of 10 October 2022) • Victoria and Albert Museum, London: 11 prints (as of 10 October 2022)
Awards
• 2001: Shortlisted, Citigroup Photography Prize, London
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jem Southam – Artists – Collection – British Council − Visual Arts. visualarts.britishcouncil.org.
- 2.Jem Southam. Government Art Collection.
- 3.Jem Southam (The J. Paul Getty Museum Collection). The J. Paul Getty Museum Collection.
- 4.1 results for Jem Southam. metmuseum.org.
- 5.Jem Southam – Artists/Makers – The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. nelson-atkins.org.
- 6.Moerdijkbrug, Jem Southam, 2003. Rijksmuseum.
- 7.Jem Southam – Science Museum Group Collection. sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk.
- 8.Jem Southam born 1950. Tate Etc.
- 9.Search Results – V&A Explore the Collections. Victoria and Albert Museum.
- 10.Photographer Jem Southam captures the majesty of New Zealand. Financial Times. 8 February 2019.
- 11.Professor Jem Southam – University of Plymouth. plymouth.ac.uk.
- 12.Britain: what lies ahead?. Financial Times.
- 13.BBC. Tate St Ives Winter Season 2004.
- 14.Victoria and Albert Museum. Past Exhibitions and Displays 2006. 25 January 2013.
- 15.Exhibition preview: Jem Southam: Clouds Descending, Salford. The Guardian. 15 November 2008.
- 16.Wander lonely as a cloud. Manchester Evening News. 18 April 2010.
- 17.Jem Southam: A Bend in The River. Royal West of England Academy.
- 18.Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize. The Photographers' Gallery.
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