Eve Arnold

Travelling the world and photographing famous faces led Arnold to become one of the most influential photojournalists of the 20th century. However, it was her unique approach that made her photographs so extraordinary. Discarding the conventional, Arnold, in a now signature documentary style, photographed her subjects in an intimate and informal manner. Expressing the very essence of her subject in each photograph, Arnold found a genuine connection with each person she worked with. At one with her camera, she offers the viewer the opportunity to see the world through her eyes in her photographs.

Born in 1912 to Russian Jewish immigrant parents who fled to America to escape persecution, Arnold was the fifth of nine children. Receiving the gift of a camera from a friend, Arnold began taking pictures for her own pleasure, developing them in a small darkroom. After marrying a graphic and industrial designer during the Second World War, her interest in photography blossomed whilst working in a photofinishing factory, where she rose quickly to become plant manager.

Arnold enrolled at the New York School for Social Research in 1948, taking a six-week class with Alexey Brodovitch – then art director at the fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. She began to develop her, now signature, style during her first course assignment for which she chose to photograph black fashion in Harlem. Picture Post – a magazine that pioneered photojournalism – published the story, catching the attention of the Magnum photographic co-operative. They invited her to join as a stringer, and eventually as their first female member in 1957.

Arnold has received many awards and acclaim for her work, including an honorary OBE and Sony Lifetime Achievement award. Her work, including her books and exhibitions, has often been praised by critics for its authenticity and is held in many public and private collections, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Sadly, passing away just weeks before her 100th birthday in 2012, Eve Arnold and her work shaped modern photojournalism.

Arnold’s transparencies, negatives and contact sheets are now retained by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, one of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts.