Shirley Baker’s street scenes of Manchester and Salford

Shirley Baker, born in 1932, was a pre-eminent street photographer who captured the daily life of working-class communities in post-war England.

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Shirley Baker

Image caption

Manchester, 1965

An online exhibition at the James Hyman Gallery has been co-curated by Baker’s daughter, Nan Levy, showing depictions of older people from the photographer’s archive.

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A woman sits on a chair and looks out of a horsebox trailer with a horse standing alongside it — Image caption

Poynton, Cheshire, 1968

The black-and-white photos show elderly people in and around Manchester and Salford over three decades.

The exhibition also includes some rare colour photos from Baker’s career.

A woman sits on a street bench smoking a cigarette — Image caption

Manchester, 1985

“We are now starting to see the easing of the lockdown and with that we can begin to step outside, enjoy the sunshine and play sport,” said co-curator Nan Levy.

Current government advice says that those aged 70 and over should take particular care to minimise contact with others outside their household.

Levy adds: “I have gathered together a collection of Shirley’s photographs taken from the mid-60s to the mid-80s; these show older people enjoying their daily lives in the community in a way that is not possible at the moment.”