The famous Magnum has been awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Concord 2024. Marked by great names in image, the photography agency inaugurated its journey in 1947 at the hands of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert CapaGeorge Rodger, Maria Eisner, William Vandivert and David Seymour ‘Chim’.
Since then, it has in its archive collection 700,000 images that constitute the best chronicle of the 20th century and part of the 21st. A key witness to historical events such as wars and social revolts, its database also contains an irreverent and unprecedented look. The jury has agreed to award the 2024 Princess of Asturias Concord Award to Magnum Photos for “its iconic and demanding work of photojournalism spanning almost eight decades in which, in an example of press freedom and risk-taking, “It has guarded and transmitted the testimony of the most relevant events of its time and thereby contributed, through the image, to raising the consciousness of humanity.”
Magnum made clear its clear commitment to photojournalism from its very foundation. Iconic in this chapter are the snapshots captured by Robert Capa during the Spanish Civil War or that of Marc Riboud, which became a symbol of peace by immortalizing a young woman who offered daisies to armed soldiers with rifles during protests in the United States over the Vietnam War.
Magnum photographers have received awards such as the World Press Photo, the W. Eugene Smith for Humanistic Photography, and the Foreign Press Club Award. Magnum Photos received the 2020 Leadership from the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum and awards the Inge Morath Award.
Currently chaired by Cristina de Middel, another prominent name from the world of Spanish photography also passed through Magnum: Cristina García Rodero. Within the framework of Photoespaña, the artist is currently rescuing her iconic ‘Hidden Spain’, both in a book, which is being republished, and on display at the Círculo de Bellas Artes until next August 18.
In addition to Rodero, Madrid is experiencing a true Magnum summit these days. The Canal Foundation brings together 135 images of Elliott Erwitt in ‘The Human Comedy’, an exhibition co-produced with Magnum Photos and which is also included in PhotoEspaña’s programming. Another photographer, Christopher Makos, and his snapshots of Andy Warhol in Spain, arrive at the Lázaro Galdiano Museum.
