Last night, I learned the sad news of a great man passing away. Laurence Cutting died at home last week quite suddenly and unexpectedly, in the presence of his wife. Laurence touched my life in a way that no other person had. He was my tutor for a few years whilst I was an art student and he was also a regular lecturer whilst I was a photography student at Harrogate College of Arts and Technology, where he imparted knowledge and wisdom in his fields of greatest expertise; Photography and Fine Art. Laurence has works in the collections of The V&A Museum; Yale Centre for British Art and The Arts Council of Great Britain and has taught at various institutions including Central Saint Martins, London.
Speaking from personal experience, I can state with authority that Laurence was a man who inspired, and got the very best out of his students. He taught me to really observe and record the word around me – a skill I still use in my daily life. A fine wit, a fountain of knowledge and a totally laid back and genuine guy. I was lucky enough to be taken to Lisbon in Portugal by Laurence, (thanks to his lesser known skill of his – acquiring grants for students) with a select bunch of other students, and this was a seminal passage of discovery – an inflection point in my life. He always had a story to tell (usually whilst smoking a gauloises bleue), often anecdotal, from his rich and varied life. I recall his telling me about a pet monkey he had, whilst serving in the merchant navy, for instance.
One of his early artistic specialisms was equestrian photography. Perhaps his most ‘eyeballed’ piece of all time was a photo he took that was used by the BBC for years and years – if you can picture the still photo of horses exploding over The Chair at Aintree, as part of the yesteryear BBC Grandstand credits – that was Lawrence’s.
Kentucky Scenes was perhaps his finest labour of love on the subject though – photography from the Bluegrass Kentucky racing scene.

I was lucky enough to see his exhibition at in Leeds and even though it was around 20 years ago, I can still remember it, which has got to be a sign of a good exhibition.
A more recently exhibition, and the last time I saw Laurence, was at an exhibition of his we went to see at The Museum for Oriental Arts in Durham. Photographs from Mongolia was a study of the people and landscapes from a country on the brink of change. Laurence took two Hasselblad medium format cameras – (his favourite camera he once told me (good taste!)), a few lenses and a load of Agfa colour film. What he came back with was a breathtaking collection of technically and aesthetically brilliant photographs. In this fascinating article he wrote about the work Lawrence talks about similarities he observed between the people of the Yorkshire Dales and those of the Mongolian deserts. I’d loved to have seen the joint exhibition with Marie Hartley’s work Mongolian Links that he cites in the piece. I’m wondering if this could be re created.
I’m going to wrap up this post with a photograph I took of him in 2008 at his Mongolia exhibition in Durham, and a copy-paste from comment that Daren – an old friend and fellow student of his – put on the above photo I took of him;
…top bloke, a thinking man’s photographer and cunning tutoring expert, with a sardonic wit that kept us all on our toes…probably more so than any other tutor, he put me on the path that I am still on… 🙂
gawd bless ‘im.
Rest in peace Lawrence, we’ll miss you.
So sad. One of life’s unmissable experiences. Will miss him.
That’s so sad – he was such a lovely man! He was one of my Dad’s co-workers at Harrogate College back in the 90’s. On to his next adventure …..
Je n’apprends que maintenant la mort de Laurence, je n’y croyais pas et je lui ai même envoyé un e mail il y a 8 jours pour qu’il me donne des nouvelles et peut être conjurer le sort, je l’ai connu quand il avait 18 ans et qu’il avait fait un séjour chez mes parents dans le sud ouest avec Susan sa femme, mrs Cutting sa mère et la mienne se sont écrit pendant 25 ans sans jamais se rencontrer ! Je suis très malheureuse, pour l’instant je ne puis rien ajouter. Alix Lacome d’Estalenx
I worked with Laurence at Harrogate from 2000 till he retired. He was a great mate and I miss him. We were supposed to be meeting up with another colleague for drinks but sadly he died just before the get together. He was taught by the great Spender hence his own ability with the camera. Catch you later old friend! Ian Glover.
I too worked with Laurence about the same time as ian glover….. To my great regret, I left and followed the money and left long before I should have… I still own an image he gave me calle Little Sister. He introduced me to the Bell Tavern and good ales. One of those men you meet in life that in some way has… Although brief…. A lasting impact.
Laurence taught me in 1964 and 65 at Brighton College of Art and inspired me to love and make black and white photography. Sad to hear of his death, but thank you Laurence for all your help.
Just read of Laurence’s death – he was a great mate when I was at Manchester in the early 1970’s and will be sorely missed – a great wit, raconteur and inspiration.
Dr. Andrew Stevens
Laurence was one of my teachers when I was at Harrogate art College (the older premises up near the stray) during the late 1970s. I remember him as if it was yesterday. He certainly was a great guy and a good listener as well as an inspiration. One of our fellow students and my best friend passed away after an accident and i will always remember his wonderful and sincere support. Will meet him for a beer soon. Andrew Hepworth
The last picture is how I remember the guy, contemplating, cigarette in hand.