Photographer David Goldblatt, chronicler of apartheid South Africa, dies at 87

David Goldblatt, the photographer who documented apartheid-era South Africa, died at age 87. Goodman Gallery confirmed his peaceful passing at his Johannesburg home on Monday. Goldblatt began his photographic career at 18, coinciding with the implementation of apartheid, and worked predominantly in black and white to capture the trauma of racial division. His images made the realities of apartheid visible internationally through depictions of exhausted miners, restricted movement under racist laws, and everyday prejudice. In 1988, he became the first South African artist to have a solo exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Goldblatt was recognized for bringing strong moral and ethical dimensions to his work. In 2011, he declined South Africa's Order of Ikhamanga award, protesting the government's Secrecy Bill that curtailed free speech. In a letter to President Jacob Zuma, he stated that accepting would endorse the government's contempt for human rights and dignity, principles central to South Africa's rebirth. Goldblatt's photography chronicled the racial divide throughout his career, earning him status as a national treasure.