Vaughan Melzer: Those Who Never Gave Up

Dennis Skinner MP

As part of its activities to commemorate and celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution, the Marx Memorial Library is showing an exhibition of portraits by photographer Vaughan Melzer of men and women born between 1915 and 1950 who became dedicated Socialists in their youth and who have maintained that commitment throughout their lives, despite decades of an inimical ideological climate and media silence.

Vaughan has created these portraits of people who formed their ideas in the wake of the First World War, the Great Depression, Hungry Thirties and the struggle against fascism. They are the often unsung heroes of the socialist movement, people who devoted their lives to justice, social equality and the dream of a socialist society. Her portraits reveal this turbulent history through their faces. Her work constitutes a pantheon that acknowledges and celebrates their place in history. Vaughan was particularly interested in what influenced them and how they came to their commitment and brief accompanying biographies describe their fascinating and varied stories.

The exhibition will be on display in the Marx Memorial Library from
 7 November  -  14 December, 2017
37a Clerkenwell Green
London
EC1R 0DU
Mon-thur 12-4; or during tours tues and thur 1pm 

​

Political activist Nicola Seyd

Monty Goldman