Photographer Tish Murtha has won widespread acclaim for his striking portrayals of working-class life in Newcastle’s west end in the late 70s and 80s.

Tish passed away in 2013, the day before her 57th birthday. Since then, her daughter Ella has worked tirelessly to carry forward her mother’s painting legacy. Tish’s work has been the subject of feature books, features in national newspapers and magazines, and major exhibitions – and now a feature-length documentary Tish is in the works.

Last year, schoolchildren in Elswick – a town that has become the focus of many of the photographer’s iconic works – decided to name a new assisted living project after her. Camera In Hand, Tish’s photography exhibition by Ella Murtha, the largest exhibition of her work in the country, will officially open at the Tish Murtha House in Wolsingham Street on Tuesday 14th March. Tish Murtha House also officially opened on this day.

Ella said: “It felt really special. On 14th March, a new generation of Elswick Kids brought the pictures back to the building named after my mother on her birthday. It couldn’t have been more meaningful. How pleasure.”

Patricia Anne Murtha was born in South Shields and grew up in Elswick. After leaving school at 16, she studied photography at Bath Lane College in Newcastle, before being awarded a council grant to enable her to study documentary photography in Newport.