The Photography Show
Magnum Gallery | Booth A32
Booth A32
The Photography Show
643 Park Avenue Armory
New York, NY 10065
United States
April 25 - 28, 2024
For this edition of The Photography Show, Magnum Gallery presents a journey through its archive with a focus on rare vintage prints. In this context, unique vintage prints by several historic photographers are on display, including highlights from Chris Killip, Sergio Larrain, Leonard Freed and Susan Meiselas. Alongside these vintage works, bold and striking images by Elliott Erwitt, Raymond Depardon and Matt Black among others, are also presented.
Elliott Erwitt
New York, USA, 1953
Vintage gelatin silver print, signed on verso
5 x 7 in / 13 x 18 cm (paper)
Adamantly against pretension both in his work and toward his subjects, Erwitt once said: “For me, photography is about finding something interesting in an ordinary place. I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
Magnum Gallery is currently exhibiting Elliott Erwitt: But Seriously in Paris.
Sergio Larrain
London, England, Great Britain, 1959
Vintage gelatin silver print
7.6 x 11.4 in / 19,5 x 29,2 cm (paper)
During his stay in London in the winter of 1958-1959, Sergio Larrain created a significant collection of images, drawing inspiration from Bill Brandt and seeking to prove his talent.
Before arriving in England, he met Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris and joined Magnum. With funding from the British Council, he spent four pivotal months in London, crafting his first major series.
Herbert List
Couple at Lake Ammersee Near Munich, Germany, 1959
Vintage gelatin silver print
9.2 x 11 in / 23,4 x 28,2 cm (paper)
"List’s images are hardly ever just happy and carefree," writes Peer-Olaf Richter in an interview with Magnum Gallery Director Samantha McCoy. "There is usually a sense of stillness, contemplation, or even melancholy present."
Bruce Davidson
East 100th Street. New York City, USA, 1966
Vintage gelatin silver print, signed on verso
Printed c. 1966-68
11 x 14 in / 28 x 35,5 cm (paper)
Davidson spent two years witnessing the dire social conditions on one block in East Harlem. The project East 100th Street, which was exhibited in 1970 by the MoMA, NY, and published the same year, explores themes of humanity, street life and perception.
Susan Meiselas
Returning backstage, Essex Junction, Vermont, USA, 1973
Vintage gelatin silver print, signed on verso
Printed c. 1976
11 x 14 in / 28 x 35,5 cm (paper)
The summer of 1972 launched Meiselas’ life as a photographer. When she arrived in Bangor, Maine, Meiselas encountered two large tents advertising “men-only” girl shows. As a woman, she was barred from entering, which intensified her curiosity. This exclusion inspired her to meet, photograph and share the stories of the carnival strippers as she followed them for the next four summers.
Chris Killip
Teeside, England, Great Britain, 1976
Lifetime gelatin silver print, signed on verso
16 x 20 in / 40 x 50 cm (paper)
This piece is a fine example of Killip’s groundbreaking work on the devastating impact of deindustrialization in England during the 1970s and 1980s and the resilience of the British people.
Explore this piece further in the video linked below.
Raymond Depardon
Guggenheim Museum. New York City, USA, 1981
Gelatin silver print, signed on recto and verso
Edition of 10
16 x 20 in / 40 x 50 cm (paper)
This print by Raymond Depardon is drawn from his renowned series New York Correspondence. Composed of humorous, observational, photographic notes - and no topical news, the French newspaper Libération dedicated a full page to this correspondence every day for a month.
It was a pivotal moment both in French photography and in Depardon’s career. This project marked a turn toward the “new journalism” of the era, which fed on daily life and featured first-person, subjective writing.
Alec Soth
Bogotá, Colombia, 2003
Archival pigment print, signed on label
Edition of 8
28 x 28 in / 71 x 71 cm (paper)
The series Dog Days, Bogotá encapsulates a simple yet profound beauty that reflects Soth’s keen and compassionate eye. In 2003, Soth embarked on a two-month journey to Colombia for the final stages of the adoption process for his daughter, Carmen.
During his stay, he received poignant documents from Carmen’s birth mother, including a heartfelt letter expressing her hopes for the child’s future. With these touching words and time on his hands, Soth was inspired to capture the essence of Carmen’s hometown through his lens.
This image serves as a testament to the inherent beauty and poetry that can be found even in the midst of adversity, in one of South America’s most impoverished cities.
Matt Black
Downtown. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 2016
Archival pigment print, signed on label
Edition of 10
24 x 24 in / 61 x 61 cm (paper)
Over six years, 100,000 miles and 46 states, Black crossed his native country without once setting foot in a community that existed above the poverty line. With this project entitled American Geography, Black presents an alternative map of the U.S. through striking black-and white images such as this one.
Alex Webb
Mayo Beach III.
Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, 2020
Archival chromogenic print, signed on label
Edition of 7
24.7 x 60 in / 62,7 x 152,4 cm (paper)
Inspired by Virginia Woolf ’s novel The Waves, this collaborative project brings together the work of Webb and and his wife Rebecca Norris Webb. Taken during the pandemic, this image serves as poignant meditation on what it means to be both deeply connected to the world around us and profoundly isolated from much that we hold dear.