Peter CostelloThe Life and Lens of Father Browne by E. E. O’Donnell
Readers who have seen the earlier books of Fr Frank Browne, the latest of which on his experiences of the Great War has just reached the shops, will be interested in this biography. It is written by his fellow Jesuit Eddie O’Donnell, who was instrumental (along with David and Edwin Davison) for the preservation and exploitation of Browne’s huge collection of negatives.
Browne first came to wide attention with his photographs taken on the Southampton to Cork leg of the Titanic’s fatal maiden voyage. But he was in fact, as this book makes out, engaged with many other aspects of life in Ireland and abroad down to his death in 1960.
This illustrated book, with a choice selection of his photographs, will entrance all his many admirers. What is remarkable about his work is that all aspects of Irish life, from the interiors of great houses to the hardships of the slums, were recorded. The images of religious life, which are many, intermingle naturally with images of everyday life, of sport, work and nature.
Arty
There is nothing too self-consciously ‘arty’ about his work, which is in contrast to much of the photography to be seen in the photo journals of the time.
His work is akin to that of Erich Salomon (the inventor of modern photojournalism), the photos of Cartier Bresson and others who strove to catch the flight of life on the wing. His inquisitive eye, often for small details, and his wide humane sympathies make him one of Ireland’s leading artists.
When one thinks of the 42,000 negatives that have survived and of how many other hoards of photographs have vanished (private and public, such as the photo collection of The Irish Press which seems to have disappeared into oblivion when the paper closed down), one can only gasp at the providential nature of the way his collection survived and was preserved.