Mary Ellen Mark (1940–2015) was a celebrated American photographer known for her documentary photography and portraiture that captured moments of vulnerability and resilience. She photographed people who were 'away from mainstream society and toward its more interesting, often troubled fringes,' including homeless youth, mental health patients, and sex workers. Mark began photographing at age nine and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and art history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962, followed by a master's degree in photojournalism in 1964. She was a member of Magnum Photos between 1977 and 1981. Her work has been exhibited worldwide and published in major publications like Life, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. She is well known for her long-term projects, such as 'Ward 81' (1976), where she lived with patients in a secure psychiatric ward to document their lives.[1,3,4,5]
