Description

In 1964 photographer David Hurn spent around seven weeks on the set of the Beatles film A Hard Days Night. He was asked by director Dick Lester to capture a “sociological” view of the Fab Four, rather than a press perspective. His photographs are some of the best documents of Beatlemania, conveying a time when the band regularly hid in hotel rooms, stuck on the never-ending rollercoaster ride of stardom. Pictured here, the four Beatles running on a train platform.

Life, as it unfolds in front of the camera, is full of so much complexity, wonder, and surprise that I find it unnecessary to create new realities. There is more pleasure, for me, in things as they are

David Hurn
© David Hurn | Magnum Photos

A self-taught photographer, David Hurn (b.1934) began his career in 1955 as an assistant at the Reflex Agency. He gained his early reputation through his reportage of the 1956 Hungarian revolution and became a full member of Magnum Photos in 1967. In 1973 he set up the influential School of Documentary Photography in Newport, Wales and remained director until 1989. In 1997 he collaborated with Professor Bill Jay on the landmark book On Being a Photographer.

Hurn’s self-initiated book Wales: Land of My Father most reflects his style and creative impetus, drawing upon observations of the changes taking place in Wales from 1970 until the book’s publication by Thames & Hudson thirty years later in 2000. His work is held in major collections including British Council, London; ICP, New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Bibliothèque nationale de France and National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, amongst others.

David Hurn continues to live in, and work from his home in Tintern, Wales.

© David Hurn | Magnum Photos

Get Magnum news and updates directly to your inbox

Stay in touch
Learn about online and offline exhibitions, photography fairs, gallery events, plus fine print news and activities, on a monthly basis.
Get fortnightly tips and advice articles, find out about the latest workshops, free online events and on-demand courses.
Stay up to date every Thursday with Magnum photographers’ activities, new work, stories published on the Magnum website, and the latest offerings from our shop.