Arnold, Eve (1913-2012), an American photojournalist, became known for her beautifully observed photographs of both celebrities and ordinary people. Her work graced the pages of the magazines Life and Look, and many other publications. She also produced books of photographic essays, and her work has been exhibited in art galleries.
Arnold was born in Philadelphia to parents of Russian origin. She took up photography by chance after a boyfriend gave her a camera. She soon began working for a film-processing company. In 1950, she covered an African American fashion show in New York City’s Harlem district as an assignment for a photography course. This assignment led to a major photographic feature story for the Picture Post.
In 1951, Arnold became the first American woman photojournalist to work for Magnum, a large photographic agency specializing in photojournalism. She eventually became the first woman to chair Magnum’s board of directors. From her work, she compiled many photographic essays that were published in Life, Look, Vogue, Paris Match, The Sunday Times, and other publications. In 1961, Arnold moved to London. Over the next three decades, her work focused on such current affairs interests as the black civil rights movement in the United States and the effects of apartheid (racial separation) in South Africa.
Arnold wrote a memoir, Eve Arnold: In Retrospect (1995). She also published many books of her photographs, including In China (1980); All in a Day’s Work (1989), featuring working people of various professions; Marilyn Monroe: An Appreciation (1989); The Great British (1991), featuring the British royal family; and Film Journal (2002), featuring Arnold’s publicity work for Hollywood films. Arnold herself made a film about women of the Middle East, Behind the Veil (1973). She died on Jan. 4, 2012.
