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Arthur Fields (born Abraham Feldman; 1901–1994) was an Irish street photographer of Ukrainian descent. He took more than 180,000 photographs of pedestrians on the south end of Dublin's O'Connell Bridge, over more than 50 years.

Introduction

Arthur Fields was an icon of Dublin in the 20th century. He became a familiar figure on O'Connell Bridge, capturing passersby and visitors with his photography for over 50 years, earning him the title, “Man on the Bridge” . He was originally born Abraham Feldman with Ukrainian-Jewish parents fleeing the effects of anti-Semitism. He changed his name to fit into Irish society better; this reflects the broader immigrant experiences at the time in Ireland. His story shows both the entrepreneurial spirit of the mid-20th century and the profound social changes in Dublin over his lifetime .

Early Life and Career

Fields began his career as a tailor, but in the 1930s, he saw the increasing desire for street photography, which changed the course of his career. At a time when personal cameras were considered a luxury, Fields offered reasonably priced portrait services every day, rain or shine. His subjects included families enjoying themselves, couples going on dates, and even famous people like boxer Jack Doyle and a young George Harrison with his mother. This trade made him the unofficial chronicler of Dublin’s daily life, capturing first dates, family outings, and even occasional celebrities .

Contributions to Social History

Arthur Fields took roughly 182,500 pictures, capturing a changing Dublin, including cultural changes, fashion trends, urban developments and more. His candid photography frequently captured people in ordinary, unposed situations. This provides a rare window into life in the middle of the 20th century. Nowadays, these photographs are widely regarded as an invaluable visual archive of Irish social history. They also reflect the evolution of street photography as an art form and the role it played in democratising portraiture during a time when personal cameras were scarce.

Challenges and Legacy

Unfortunately, for Fields, in the 1960s, cameras became more affordable making the demand for professional street photography decline. However, he continued his work right into the 1980s, driven by a sense of dedication to his craft. Fields’ work attracted renewed attention with the “Man on Bridge” project, which used thousands of his photographs from his collections taken in Ireland and abroad. This resulted in a book, an exhibition, and a documentary aired on RTÉ in 2014

Personal Life

Despite his fame around the city centre of Dublin, Fields lived a private life in a suburb of Dublin called Raheny. His Jewish heritage, initially a challenge in integrating into Irish society, became part of his unique legacy as a chronicler of Dublin’s diverse social fabric. Today, Fields is celebrated not only for his artistic contributions but also as a cultural historian whose work continues to provide a window into Dublin’s past.

Background and career

[edit source] Fields was born into a Jewish family from Ukraine. After fleeing antisemitism in Kiev in 1885, his family eventually made Dublin their home.

Initially operating a sound studio where clients may record their voices, Fields later started taking pictures after purchasing a box camera. Later in his career, Fields moved to a Polaroid instant camera. On the bridge, Field's brother worked as a photographer as well. Fields' enormous collection of images, which show the city's shifting styles and shopfronts, is acknowledged as a social record of Dublin from the 1930s to the 1980s. Field frequently photographed Nelson's Pillar before Irish republicans destroyed it in 1966.

Fields took an estimated 182,500 photographs of pedestrians on the bridge from the early 1930s until 1985. Notable people photographed by Fields on the bridge included the playwright Brendan Behan, the actors Margaret Rutherford and Gene Tierney, and Prince Monolulu, who claimed to be a chief of the Falasha tribe of Abyssinia, and who wore a headdress and a fur coat.

Fields lived in the Dublin suburb of Raheny, and would walk seven miles to and from the bridge each day to work. Field's modus operandi would be to "pretend to take a picture of a passer-by and, when they stopped, he'd take the real one. Then he'd give them a ticket and they could collect the photograph from a nearby studio run by his wife; she developed all the photos."

Legacy

[edit source] The interactive documentary website Man On Bridge: 50 Years as a Photographer on O'Connell Bridge, created by El Zorrero Films, features documentation of Arthur Fields' work. The website invites people to upload their photos to an online collection. The website, which includes a collection of photographs and documentaries, was awarded the 2015 Digital Media Awards' best website. Another Arthur Guinness Projects winner was the Man on Bridge project. The Gallery of Photography in Dublin hosted an exhibition of 3,400 photos gathered for the project in December 2014.

A documentary titled Man On Bridge was produced for RTE and screened at Christmas 2014. The Irish Times called the film a "beautifully constructed, subtly emotional documentary". The documentary was nominated for an IFTA award for Best Documentary Single in 2015.

Two books of Arthur Fields' photographs edited by Ciaran Deeney and David Clarke were published by Colins Press.

Publications

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• Man on the Bridge: The Photos of Arthur Fields - ISBN 978-1848893320
• Man on the Bridge: More Photos By Arthur Fields - ISBN 978-1848892170

References

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8. ^ "Dublin's snapper - Herald.ie". Herald.ie. Retrieved 14 October 2015.