A permanent mural is being planned in tribute to the late photographer Martin Parr at the iconic location where he created his acclaimed series The Last Resort .

New Brighton Creative Futures CIC has announced plans to create a major seafront mural in New Brighton in Merseyside, England, in tribute to Parr, one of Britain’s most influential photographers who died in December 2025 at age 73.

New Brighton, a northern English coastal town developed as a resort modeled after the far more famous Brighton on England’s south coast, became the setting for Parr’s The Last Resort . The series of color photographs documented working-class vacationers at a seaside resort that was beginning to decline. When the series was published and exhibited in 1986, it received sharply mixed reactions, with some critics accusing Parr of portraying the working-class community in an unsympathetic light. In the years since, however, The Last Resort has come to be recognized as an important work that helped transform British documentary photography and establish Parr as one of the world’s leading photographers.

According to local reports, the artwork will be created in collaboration with the Martin Parr Foundation. The mural will be located on the seafront in New Brighton, placing the tribute close to the landscape that became synonymous with Parr’s most celebrated photographs.

Jenni Smith, director of the Martin Parr Foundation, describes the mural as “poignant”, as it will overlook the town of New Brighton, as the late photographer did with his camera once before.

Smith says: “Martin was often asked which photographs he considered his best work; the answer was always the same: the images from The Last Resort. New Brighton , its community and the photographs he made there, always held a special place in his heart.”

‘This Mural is Our Thank You’

The project is now seeking public donations, with supporters able to contribute towards the mural and the public programme planned around it. People can donate through GoFundMe , or visit the New Brighton Creative Futures CIC’s website . Local and regional businesses can also sponsor the tribute.

“Martin Parr saw something in New Brighton that the rest of the world had overlooked, and he turned it into some of the most important photographs Britain has ever produced,” Rory Wilmer, creative director and founder of New Brighton Creative Futures CIC, says.

“When he passed away, we felt that loss as a town. This mural is our thank you — a way to keep him here, on the seafront he loved, for generations to come. We’d be honoured if the people of New Brighton would help us build it.”

Header photo: Courtesy of the Martin Parr Foundation and Magnum Photos