Description

Steve McCurry first traveled to India in 1978. Inspired by photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Margaret Bourke-White, he bought a one-way ticket and left with a suitcase of clothes and a suitcase of 250 rolls of Kodachrome. He has since returned countless times over the past four decades and says of the country: “[I was drawn to] the depth of culture here. The visual chaos, the endless variety of dramatic cheek-by-jowl juxtapositions it affords: modernity and tradition, the haves and have-nots, the usual and the bizarre.”

The photograph is an undeniably powerful medium. Free from the constraints of language, and harnessing the unique qualities of a single moment frozen in time

Steve McCurry
© Steve McCurry | Magnum Photos

Steve McCurry was born in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; McCurry studied film at Pennsylvania State University, before going on to work for a local newspaper.

After several years of freelance work, McCurry made his first of what would become many trips to India. Since then, McCurry has gone on to create evocative images in over six continents and countless countries, with scores of magazine and book covers, as well as solo global exhibitions.

His image of a young Afghan refugee with piercing eyes – the June 1985 National Geographic cover – has become one of the most distinctive in photographic history. McCurry has been a contributor to Magnum since 1986.

© Steve McCurry | Magnum Photos

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