Peter Howe:
f you knew Wales, you knew Philip Jones Griffiths. To the end of his life he remained true to his Welshness, which defined him with a power that few environments exert. Both he and his birthplace are rife with contradictions. It is a breathtakingly beautiful land, and relentlessly bleak, a land of strong communities made up of fierce individualists, where physical poverty has produced spiritual richness. Philip’s personality reflected this duality. He was a cynical idealist; a serious man with a playful wit; his mind was analytical but his soul was passionate; profoundly moral he could be wickedly lascivious; he was opinionated but compassionate. The one area of his life that was without contradiction, and which dominated him to his last day, was his craft. He was without compromise, without hesitation and without deviation a photographer, one of the greatest photojournalists this profession has been proud to call its own.
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