Description

Steve McCurry has been photographing in India for more than four decades and a signature of this work is his portrait-style photos, where his subjects often stare unabashedly into the camera, suggesting a striking intimacy. “I prefer that they look me in the eyes rather than at the camera lens,” he says. “The Indian people are used to cameras and they like being photographed.”

A picture can express a universal humanism, or simply reveal a delicate and poignant truth by exposing a slice of life that might otherwise pass unnoticed

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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