History’s biggest moments, as seen by Magnum photographers
- Text by HUCK HQ
A new exhibition showcasing the best of Magnum’s photojournalism archives is set to open in London this month. The show, titled In Our Time, will bring together 30 of the agency’s most iconic historical shots; from Henri Cartier-Bresson’s World War Two photography to Eve Arnold’s Hollywood portraiture.
All the images chosen were taken between 1936 and 1987 – a period dubbed by Magnum as the “golden age” of photojournalism. Work from Elliott Erwitt, Marc Riboud, Ian Berry and Alex Webb will also be included.
USA. North Carolina. 1950 © Elliott Erwitt / Magnum Photos
During the Ramadan. A normally very busy street deserted by citizens for the first meal of the day. EGYPT. Cairo. 1987 © Harry Gruyeart / Magnum Photos
The exhibition is linked to a 1989 Magnum photo book of the same name, which is being revisited to mark the agency’s 70th anniversary this year.
“This stirring volume of extraordinary photographs, presenting our times in all their elegance, squalor, courage, hope, betrayal, agony, sacrifice, heroism and majesty, is as unsparing of its audience as it was unsparing of its photographers,” historian William Manchester writes in the original In Our Time foreword. “These pictures demand involvement.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu conducts a funeral service in a makeshift tent for a schoolgirl shot by the police. 1985 © Ian Berry / Magnum Photos
USA. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1958. Ernest MILLER nicknamed Kid Punch MILLER trumpet player and singer returning home at 6 am. © Dennis Stock / Magnum Photos
In Our Time will run at London’s Magnum Print Room from September 21 to November 3.
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