Maganbhai Patel, lovingly known as Masterji passed away at the age of 95. His daughter Tarla Patel tweeted the news, saying, “It was wonderful to see him recognised for his photography in his later years, and a joy for my family to see him achieve so much.” Masterji, who landed in Coventry in 1951, was already taking pictures in India using a box camera before studying photography. He soon took up his passion full-time, and set up the Master's Art Studio which he ran from the front of his home.
His first exhibition was however, held in Coventry in 2016, and a book of his images was published in 2017. The exhibition that featured 70 pictures taken by him, was used as part of Coventry's bid to be City of Culture 2021. Laura McMillan, Director of Operations and Legacy at Coventry City of Culture Trust, said, “Our thoughts are with Masterji’s family at this time. We were proud to work with him, his daughter, Tarla, and the whole family as well as the team at PAM to help share his story with the world – and what an inspirational story it is. He held his first exhibition at the age of 94 and released his first book aged 95 and it was lovely to see how much the recognition meant to him and his family.”
She added, “And we have no doubt whatsoever that his work made a major contribution to Coventry being named UK City of Culture 2021. We talked a great deal about the diversity of the city during the bid process but Masterji’s photos were a wonderful illustration of that and have given a much better understanding of the city’s history in terms of immigration from South Asia.”
