Eve Arnold: Magnum Legacy

Eve Arnold (1912 - 2012) was born to a poor immigrant family in Philadelphia and became a photographer by chance. In 1950 Arnold was a 38-year-old Long Island housewife when she enrolled in a six-week photography course that led to her groundbreaking photo essay on black fashion models in Harlem. She went on to become the first woman to join Magnum Photos and, eventually, one of the most accomplished photojournalists of her time. Filled with reproductions of Arnold's acclaimed photographs, shot in both colour and black-and-white, as well as previously unseen archival images, this biography relates Arnold's bold images to the fascinating story of their making. Renowned for her intimate portraits of figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Malcolm X and Queen Elizabeth, Arnold was equally comfortable documenting the lives of the poor and dispossessed. "I don't see anybody as either ordinary or extraordinary. I see them simply as people in front of my lens." To her images of migrant workers, disabled veterans and protesters for civil rights in the US and against apartheid in South Africa, she brought an unflinching eye and a strong sense of social justice.This highly engrossing narrative tells a compelling story of an intrepid artist whose life's purpose was to report on the lives of others.

Review: "The theme that subtly emerges in "Eve Arnold" is the sheer time and expense of producing a body of work like hers ... To send a great photographer out into the world may seem like an extravagance these days, but "Eve Arnold" is a reminder that it's worthy one. -The Wall Street Journal "Inspiring and fascinating ... contributes something new and valuable to [Eve Arnold's] unique and highly original legacy." -The Washington Post "Brilliantly edited, elegantly sequenced, and beautifully produced, Arnold's photographs shimmer like pools on the page, taking us back to a time and a place that remind us of the power of photography to define the look and feel of the times, particularly by those whose work was seen far and wide in newspapers and picture magazines at a time when circulation was at record highs worldwide ... "Eve Arnold: Magnum Legacy" presents the creme de la creme from an archive as vast as it is deep, a veritable ocean of images that continue to resonate with power and intensity." -Crave "This is the first study of her work that relies on her diaries, letters and other archival materials more than on personal reminiscences and anecdotes." -Time