James Sparshatt Art

Los Tangueros An intimate tango dance in the early hours of the morning James Sparshatt captures this intimate moment of dance, exuding an aura of timeless romance. The couple are...

It was almost 3am and we were still waiting for the band to start to play. I stood on the open air stage buffeted by the winds as the group and their roadies struggled to set up. Th...

Flamenco dancers use facial expressions, hand movements and gestures to convey emotions. Their dress is dramatic and enhances these movements often with the sweep and swirl of the flamenco shawl...

Les Vacances I The west coast of France is a place to eat delectable oysters, drink fine wines and walk along endless beaches in the glare of the summer sun. The Atlantic swell and ...

Jacquelina was photographed in the early hours in a milonga tango club in Buenos Aires. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people ...

El Paso is an evocative black-and-white photograph that captures the dynamic motion of dancers, focusing on their feet elegantly entwined. The photograph features a blurred effect th...

A frozen morning on the Bure River – a glass-like reflection of the over-arching trees James Sparshatt’s black and white landscapes from his Norfolk home emphasize the beauty of the big skies...

The forest awakens in spring. New leaves uncurl as morning light brings forth new growth. James Sparshatt’s black and white landscapes have an ethereal beauty. They are moments wh...

Corazon y Alma - Heart and soul – lost in each others arms on a tango floor in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This evocative black-and-white photograph captures an intimate moment between...

A woman of vigour and spirit and humour, full of stories, sat on her rocking chair, smoking a cigar, commenting on the world with a word or stream of invective. The Spirit of the Re...

The school of Spanish dance is housed in the upper floors of the Teatro Garcia Lorca in Havana. The wooden floors of the rehearsal rooms are worn and pitt...

El Orgullo - the pride - Holguín, Cuba during Las Romerias de Mayo festival. Women full of pride dancing during Las Romerias de Mayo festival A troupe of female dancers full of all...

Windswept and weather beaten these stakes fight a losing battle against the eternal elements… James Sparshatt’s black and white landscapes from his Norfolk home emphasize the beauty...

A moment of calm amongst busy patterns and fabrics. Resting before it all comes to life. The Carnaval of Olinda, on the north east coast of Brazil, is a week of high energy and exub...

A photograph of Mario locked in a harmonious embrace with his trumpet… a moment of magic in a jazz club in New Orleans. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the ...

The Viñales valley in western Cuba is a place of stunning beauty where perhaps the finest tobacco leaves in the world are grown. The tobacco farmers live hard but proud lives. The S...

Just after dawn on the Henderson swamp in Louisiana, with only alligators and storks for company, the hanging moss and primeval cypress trees in calm magnificence. James Sparshatt’s...

Andalucian flamenco is emotionally raw, plaintive and passionate. These three images capture the raw energy and inner turmoil of the music. A palmera summons the Duende through the...

This striking black-and-white photograph of a Bluesman on Beale street in Memphis, Tennessee, captures the essence of timelessness and passion in music. The musician is seated on a w...

A lady of pure joy… dancing in the Plaza de la Revolucion on May 1st. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as...

Music in Havana is an almost ever present backdrop to life… wandering the streets it is almost as though there is a soundtrack playing to the movie of your life. These school kids...

The Atlantic Ocean stretching out from Dingle. In Irish folklore Brasil was believed to be a phantom island lost in mists that appeared once every seven years but could never be reac...

A lady of pure joy… dancing in the Plaza de la Revolucion on May 1st. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as...

New Orleans is a mecca for music lovers from around the world. Wandering up Frenchmen Street on a sultry Louisianan evening is to be surrounded by competing sounds vying for attentio...

A palmera summons the Duende through the force of her percussive clapping. In harmony with the tacones of the flamenco dancer and the harsh lament of the vocalist. James Sparshatt’...

Havana Café. El Escabeche is a bar about halfway along called Obispo in old Havana. It was late afternoon when the band began to play. Their new lead singer was performing for the fi...

A woman of vigour and spirit and humour, full of stories, sat on her rocking chair, smoking a cigar, commenting on the world with a word or stream of invective. The Spirit of the Re...

A moment of joy on the dance floor at the Festival Acadiens et Creoles in 2019 in Lafayette, Louisiana. A joyous connection! Lafayette Louisiana, USA 2019 James Sparshatt‘s black and white portraits are a search for a connection with a world of emotions. His photographs from the streets of Havana, the milongas of Buenos Aires, the jazz clubs of New Orleans and bars of Andalucia capture the spirit of music in populations wher it is the very lifeblood and expression of life. Matt print direct on to aluminium Edition of 12 Dark wood tray...

Esperanza, the hope of youth for a better future. Holguín, Cuba 2002. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm...

The Nubra Valley is part of the Tibetan plateau. It is an arid landscape surrounded by awesome peaks, a high altitude desert inhabited by a few small Ladakhi communities and their ...

Flamenco is an expression of life’s emotions… of love, anger, sorrow and joy. Of passion and all the things that it drives us to. Andalusian flamenco was born in the Gitano or Gyps...

A tobacco farmer from the Viñales valley in Cuba. In 1959 residents of Cuba were faced with a stark choice: stay on their island home and live as a “revolutionary” or leave. Some believed wholeheartedly in the new beginning, some were willing to be carried along and some abandoned everything they had and chose exile. The Buena Vista social club found fame as much for their incredible spirit as for their music, but for me it is the everyman that you meet on the street, cigar clamped between teeth, a glint in the eye, that embodies the true spirit of those who have lived through 50 years of struggle. James Sparshatt’s photographs of the “Revolutionary” generation of Cubans capture their grit and indominatable spirit. The black and white portrait photograph...

Southern Belle 2023 Dancers in Reds bar in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the early hours. The juke joint as a place to dance, rough around the edges, a place where anything goes, whe...

A set of three framed silver gelatin prints by James Sparshatt. These black and white portraits of cigar smokers in Havana, Cuba, were taken at the turn of the 21st Century. Each...

Last Man Standing Creating his own dancefloor. As much a part of the show as he is the audience. The Carnaval of Olinda, on the north east coast of Braz...

Just after dawn on the Henderson swamp in Louisiana, with only alligators and storks for company, the hanging moss and primeval cypress trees in calm magnificence. James Sparshatt’s...

A man of gentlemany demeanour, content with his cigar. A sentinel watching the world pass amidst the endless sugar cane country of central Cuba. The Spirit of the Revolution serie...

A frozen morning in the highlands of Scotland and the sun battles to emerge from the mists. James Sparshatt’s black and white landscapes have an ethereal beauty. They are moments w...

El Ensayo (the rehearsal) was taken during the Romerias de Mayo festival in Holguin Cuba. The troupe were preparing for a performance of Afro-Cuban dance...

Fuerza y Poder – Strength and Power. The Raphael Trejo gym is an institution of Old Havana. An open air gym that has produced world beating champions from bare-footed initiates. I...

Puro is Cuban slang for a cigar… alegria is Spanish for happiness… for Graciela both always seemed essential to her being. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generati...

Las Memorias… sitting on a rocking chair in Viñales watching the sunset and thinking of life. The wife of a tobacco farmer, a strong woman of generosity and humour lost in thought while enjoying a hand-rolled Puro and a glass of rum. Cuba 2019 James Sparshatt‘s black and white portraits are a search for a connection with a world of emotions. His photographs from the streets of Havana, the milongas of Buenos Aires, the jazz clubs of New Orleans and bars of Andalucia capture the spirit of music in populations wher it is the very lifeblood and expression of life. Matt print direct on to aluminium Edition of 12 Dark wood tray...

Sonhos silenciosas 2023 Silent dreams. A young performer during the Night of the Silent Drums. The Carnaval of Olinda, on the north east coast of Brazil, is a week of high energy and exuberance. Dancers and musicians perform in Blocos that progress slowly through the streets of the beautiful colonial era town. Olinda Pernambuco Brazil James Sparshatt‘s black and white portraits are a search for a connection with a world of emotions. His photographs from the streets of Havana, the milongas of Buenos Aires, the jazz clubs of New Orleans and bars of Andalucia capture the spirit of music in populations wher it is the very lifeblood and expression of life. Matt print direct on to aluminium Edition of 12 Dark wood tray...

Music in Havana is an almost ever present backdrop to life… wandering the streets it is almost as though there is a soundtrack playing to the movie of your life. These school kids we...

Just after dawn on the Henderson swamp in Louisiana, with only alligators and storks for company, the hanging moss and primeval cypress trees in calm magnificence. James Sparshatt’s...

Dreams of a moment… James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the moment. The work is available as silver g...

Rumba de Cuba by James Sparshatt - Platinum Photograph of Cuban drummer The drums that provide the driving beat underpinning Cuban music were brought from Africa. Each distinct rhyt...

Puro is Cuban slang for a cigar… alegria is Spanish for happiness… for Graciela both always seemed essential to her being. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generati...

Les Vacances II The west coast of France is a place to eat delectable oysters, drink fine wines and walk along endless beaches in the glare of the summer sun. The Atlantic swell and...

There is a something about being a child on the beach where the sheer exuberance of running into the waves transcends the normal social barriers, and the shared exhilarance allows fo...

Havana Café. El Escabeche is a bar about halfway along called Obispo in old Havana. It was late afternoon when the band began to play. Their new lead singer was performing for the fi...

Aodh is a god of the underworld and prince of the Daoine Sidhe in Irish mythology. The crashing waves in this cave made its legend as a gateway to the realm of the Gods entirely u...

Puro is Cuban slang for a cigar… alegria is Spanish for happiness… for Graciela both always seemed essential to her being. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generati...

Graciela was for many years an institution in Old Havana. Always dressed beautifully, a cigar clamped between her teeth, a grin at the ready. A witness to the Cuban revolution and 50...

A moment of harmony… male with female, African with Hispanic… joined together in the dance that is Cuba. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and int...

Rolling waves crashing against the breakwater in St Monan’s calmed by a long exposure after dark. James Sparshatt’s black and white landscapes have an ethereal beauty. They are mom...

A photograph of Mario locked in a harmonious embrace with his trumpet… a moment of magic in a jazz club in New Orleans. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the ...

Dancers during the Romerias de Mayo festival in Holguin Cuba. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people los...

Aodh is a god of the underworld and prince of the Daoine Sidhe in Irish mythology. The crashing waves in this cave made its legend as a gateway to the realm of the Gods entirely u...

A moment of joy on the dancefloor at the Festival Acadiens et Creoles in 2019 in Lafayette, Louisiana. A joyous connection! Lafayette Louisiana, USA 2019 James Sparshatt‘s black a...