Exhibition: Putting Britain in the Picture

Since its launch the Daily Mirror has had a front row seat for the events, people and places which have shaped our history. To mark the Mirror’s 120th anniversary, this exhibition is a tribute to the photographers whose images have changed and continue to change how we see the world.

The Mirror photographers have endured the horror of the First World War trenches, been arrested for spying in Siberia and stood on the roof of St Paul’s Cathedral as Luftwaffe incendiary bombs rained down. They have risked their lives reporting from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

They have covered natural disasters, famine, and deprivation.

They have partied with celebrities, witnessed era-defining moments in politics and recorded for posterity times of national celebration. Selecting 56 photographs from the Mirror’s archive of five million pictures was an invidious task.

In this exhibition we have tried to capture important national and international events as well as document the changing tastes and fashions of the last 120 years. These photographs also reflect how the Mirror has not just held a lens to the world but used its voice to campaign for a better, fairer society.

The technology may have changed – the digital cameras used today are a far cry from the bulky, plate-glass cameras of the 1920s – but the determination to capture the perfect image remains the same.

These images are not just documents of social change and seminal moments in history. What makes them so remarkable is the brilliance of photography.

It is easy to take for granted the hundreds of photographs which appear in the Mirror each day, in print and online.

So many of them are not only outstanding pieces of photojournalism, they are also works of art.

Ian has Visited - review here.