Dr Richard Sadler FRPS, one of British photography's important post-war figures, has died aged 92 years after a short illness. Originally from Coventry, Sadler was in his home city during the Coventry Blitz of 1940 and later documented the reconstruction of the city and the iconic Coventry Cathedral, becoming its official photographer. He was also the heavily involved with the city's Belgrade Theatre from 1958 until 1994 and part of his work there has now been digitised.
He began teaching photography at Derby College of Art (later University of Derby) and was appointed course leader of the BA course in the 1980s. Derby University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2006.
Sadler's best known image is of the famous American photographer, Arthur Fellig - Weegee the Famous - photographed when he visited Coventry in 1963. His photographs are held in several international collections, including The Royal Photographic Society Collection,the Centre for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
He joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1960 and was a former chairman of its Contemporary Group, editing its journal for many years The RPS awarded him its Fenton Medal in 2005. He was profiled by Mike Hallett in the Society's publication Portfolio Two (2010).
In 2007 he moved to Monmouthshire where he died on Saturday. BPH's condolences go to his partner, Sue, his daughters and family.
See: https://photomining.org/projects/sadler-at-the-belgrade
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O212252/weegee-the-famous-photograph-sadler-richard-ma/
With thanks to John Blakemore and Paul Hill.
More to follow.
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