Booth Shares Title

Magnum Agency, a cooperative of photographers founded in 1947 in both Paris and New York, brings together some of the leading figures in the history of photography. Eye witnesses of the upheavals of the twentieth century, its members have captured powerful and emblematic images. Based on material from long-forgotten archives, this book offers, for the first time, an in-depth journey into the history of one of the most famous agencies in photojournalism. By analyzing the development of the agency’s organizational models and decision-making processes, as well as the numerous debates that took place within its fold, Clara Bouveresse examines how the definition of a “good” photographer was constantly reviewed. Based on a chronological approach, the author analyzes how much the crises which have affected the cooperative over generations – from its foundation in the wake of WW2 to the current challenges of the digital age and documentary art photography – have gradually fashioned the “art of being a photographer”. This book comes illustrated with more 150 photographs and documents in both color and black and white.